The Tainting of Tennar Weyr
by Len'sMind
Summary: Tennar Weyr: formed by a handful of dragon riders, was supposed to be a new and safe start for those in need. It only took one deformed dragon egg and three headstrong crafters to turn this sanctuary into what would soon be known as the Forsaken Weyr. Mutants are hatching, change is coming, and the rest of Pern doesn't like that. (Non-canon.)
1. A Tanner's Idea

This is technically the first story about Tennar Weyr, though the second one I've written :P It takes place about 600 turns before 'The Mutants of Tennar Weyr', when Tennar has just been formed.

Hope you enjoy it! :) ((The chapters won't always be this short ;D ))

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**Chapter One: A Tanner's Idea**

Watching with glazed eyes as the blood trickled out of his palm, creating circular droplets on the wooden desk; Tomoa listened out for the footsteps that drew closer and closer to the room. Sure enough, his thoughts – if they could even be called such things – were interrupted by Kain's groan as he walked in.

"Scorch it," he grumbled, marching over to grab Tomoa's arm. He wasted no time in pulling out the emergency bandages he always kept in the box on the desk, and was soon cleaning and wrapping the wound.

Tomoa didn't say anything, simply watched with a rather bored expression plastered across his face. He tried to remember when Kain had stopped acting surprised when he walked in to find Tomoa bleeding; it was probably a while ago now, after all, they'd been working alongside each other in the Tanner crafthall for nearly eight years or so now.

"You know, Tom," Kain sighed – putting the rest of the bandages away. "One of these days I won't be there to patch you up, and you'll just bleed to death."

"On your conscience be it," Tomoa shrugged, resting his hand on the desk again.

His fellow Journeyman sighed and moved across to slump down on the bed – Tomoa's bed, but he was so used to Kain invading his space every day, he no longer cared.

"You shouldn't keep skipping meals, you know," Kain warned, closing his eyes lazily.

"I was thinking."

"You're always thinking. What was it this time?"

"I think I'm going to leave."

Tomoa almost smirked when he saw Kain leap up out of the corner of his eye. _Almost_, but not quite.

"L-leave? Why?"

"Because this place will just hold me back," Tomoa turned around to look properly at his worried friend. "I'll never reach Master Tanner if I just linger around – there's too much competition and I'm being pushed to the back of the crowd."

The worry-lines on Kain's face were deepening. "You're not even twenty yet, barely left Apprenticeship, what are you expecting?"

"I'm thinking of preparing for the long haul here, Kain. You should be too."

"Of course you lump me in with you," Kain rubbed his eyes, leaning forward. "What's your point, Tomoa?"

Now he smirked; the grin seemed to only alarm Kain more, but honestly they both knew he'd go along with whatever Tomoa wanted – he was that sort of person. However, he predicted Kain might put up more of a fight on this plan – it was certainly a little more drastic than his others, especially considering the destination.

"Have you heard about the new Weyr?"

Kain's expression said he already knew where this was going. "Yes... the one on the Southern Continent that most Northern Weyrs don't approve of."

"Yeah, that one!" Tomoa quickly ignored the comment about the Northern Weyrs. He'd already down his research; it was clear just after a quick chat with the watchrider that Igen and the other Weyrs didn't like the idea of a new Weyr, for whatever reason. "It seems they're a little desperate for transfers of all sorts."

"If you're really desperate for a change, can't we just go to Lemos, or maybe Telgar? Why does it have to be a Weyr? You don't even like dragons!"

"I've always wanted to go to the Southern Continent–"

"Great! Southern Hold it is!"

"–and I can help mould this Weyr if I go. I'll be one of the first Tanners to be there."

Kain groaned again and dropped his head into his hands, shaking it in disbelief. Perhaps one day Tomoa wouldn't find his friend's distress so amusing, but today wasn't that day – and the grin stayed on his face as he watched the mental turmoil Kain fought through. Eventually, Kain let out a heavy sigh and looked up.

"You better not change your mind after having a few days of fun and drag me back."

"I never said you had to join me."

"Wherry teeth," Kain pushed himself to his feet and walked over to clap his hand against Tomoa's shoulder. "Didn't I just point out that the day I'm not around will be the day you sharding bleed to death."

"Best get packing then. We're leaving tomorrow."

Letting out a laugh that was more nervous than anything else, Kain scratched his head. "You really don't wait around, do you?"

The two didn't waste time speaking for much longer – Tomoa wanted to get away from Igen Hold and the crafthall as soon as possible. After throwing his belongings into a bag that should probably have been fuller, he collapsed onto his bed fully dressed and smiled up at the ceiling. A brand new start: now that was something he quite looked forward to. He could avoid the dragons; after all, if he and Kain were the first Tanners, they could keep themselves busy enough to not have to deal with the beasts.

He had been thinking of leaving Igen for some time now, but it had never been more than a little idea of his that he would probably never follow up. However, once he heard how much the other Weyrs didn't want this new one to be created, his interest had been piqued. The name only drew him in further.

Tennar Weyr.

Tomoa, the Tanner or Tennar. He liked the sound of that.


	2. A Healer's Family

Gah! You guys are so awesome here's another chapter today! . Thanks so much for jumping right in with this story, I really appreciate it!

Hope you enjoy! :D

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**Chapter Two: A Healer's Family**

The creation of a new Weyr wasn't something many people had the chance to see. For that reason, Nigh supposed she was lucky. She was here on the day they begun clearing out the old volcanic caverns to create this new 'Tennar Weyr'. She was the first non-rider to move into the weyrs. She was the first Healer to arrive – Apprentice or not.

However, as she stood staring around the new furniture she'd been given for her weyr, she couldn't help but feel extremely unlucky.

"Mama, can we go eat?" Gilla asked as she tugged at Nigh's hand.

Turning and forcing a smile for the child, Nigh quickly pushed back any negative thoughts on her mind. "Sure thing, sweetheart."

As her daughter skipped along the still uneven tunnels, pulling Nigh along behind her, the Healer couldn't help but smile at how easily the little girl had fitted into the Weyr. Having two dragon riding aunts meant the Gilla was accustomed to dragons to a certain extent, but she'd seemed to be shockingly at ease in a Weyr. Then again, Tennar was only home to seven dragons so far, so it was hardly as big as the other Weyrs.

"Linea!"

Gilla's hand vanished from Nigh's as the girl sprinted down the tunnel to through herself straight into the waiting woman's arms. Nigh's half-sister may have visited often when they lived in Benden Hold, but Linea was always a little uncomfortable outside of the Weyr. She seemed much more at home here in Tennar Weyr – happily surrounded by her fellow dragon riders.

"Where's Myemye?" Gilla squealed as Nigh approached the pair.

"Myemath's snoozing away on her ledge," Linea grinned. "She's eaten, so it's my turn now!"

"You wanna eat with us?" Gilla asked, taking both her mother and her aunt's hands and pulling them back along to the mess hall. How the girl had memorised the basics of the Weyr after only a sevenday, Nigh had no clue.

Before Nigh had time to say anything, she was sitting in the hall rippling a bread roll in two for Gilla, and Linea was excitedly chattering away about the other riders.

"I think the best part is that they didn't even look twice when they realised I was a female," she explained as she poured a cup of klah for herself. "I mean, I get that female green riders aren't exactly a new thing anymore, but back in Benden, people still couldn't stand me."

"Well, Tennar is made for those who don't feel like they have a place," Nigh nodded. Yes, every person here – whether they be a rider or handler, crafter or holder – was here because the rest of Pern didn't want them.

Linea's smile suddenly widened as she spotted something over Nigh's shoulder, and lifted her hand up to wave at whoever had just entered the mess hall. Following her gaze, both Nigh and Gilla looked round to see a familiar blonde woman enter – closely followed by H'onn: the only bronze rider currently at Tennar, and their Weyrleader.

"Jillen!" Gilla cried, beckoning her other aunt over. "Eat with us, yeah?"

Jillen smiled and said something to H'onn before hurrying over to her small family. Pressing her lips briefly against Gilla's head – which earned a happy giggle from the girl; she hopped into the seat beside Linea with a sigh.

"What an honour to be joined by you, _Weyrwoman_." Linea gave her a meaningful wink.

"Don't call me that," Jillen frowned as she stole the apple from her sister's plate and bit into it. "I don't care what anyone says; I'll never get used to being called that."

"Well the whole Weyr's going to call you it," Nigh pointed out. "So you best start answering to it."

Despite how much Jillen hated being the centre of attention, she made an excellent Weyrwoman. She was fair and kind, though didn't hesitate to dish out orders and punishments as necessary. It had been her who'd first decided to create Tennar. She never voiced her exact reasons for coming up with the idea, but Nigh believed Linea's treatment back in Benden Weyr played a large part in it. When H'onn appeared on the scene – someone who'd conflicted with his own Weyrleaders at Southern Weyr over the unfair treatment of handlers – it seemed the two pushed each other into taking that step of starting their own Weyr.

They had a handful dragon riders who supported them, as well as a few handlers, so when H'onn found the old volcano in the south-west corner of the Southern Continent, they had no reason not to make their move. Nigh had been dragged alongside her half-sisters, and she was yet to decide whether she regretted it or not.

"How's the new WeyrHealer treating you, Nigh?" Jillen asked.

"Oh, he's very talented. I'm surprised he isn't a Master already." The Journeyman Healer Dezetton had just arrived. None of the Master Healers had agreed to move to Tennar, but he was a secret talent H'onn had found in Southern Hold. His bedside manner was certainly not the best, but he was dedicated and more than willing to teach Nigh.

"That's good," Jillen seemed relieved. "I was worried he was going to be a bit hard to handle."

"Oh no, he's already said he's glad there's another Healer to help him."

"He's nice!" Gilla said, throwing in her opinion. Nigh rolled her eyes; Gilla thought everyone was 'nice'. Dezetton hadn't said anything more than 'hello' to her. Nigh had just been grateful he hadn't kicked the child out of the Infirmary.

"And what about you, little one," Jillen reached out to prod the girl on the nose. "How are you liking it here? Have I made a nice home for you?"

"Yeah! Me and Jurez and Pament learn together!" Gilla explained, dancing in her seat. Nigh had already heard a lot about the only other two children at Tennar; she'd originally been worried that they were both boys and would leave Gilla out, but it seemed her worrying was for nothing. "They don't listen much in lessons, but that's 'cause the Master always teaches us the same stuff."

Nigh had to hold back a laugh as she spotted how guilty Jillen looked. The only Harper she could find who agreed come to Tennar was a little too old to be any good. Master Onfriam may have been brilliant ten turns ago, but now he wasn't all there and seemed to just repeat the same teaching songs over and over again.

"I hope you're showing that old man how much you know then, Gilla!" Linea hit her hand against the table as if to emphasise the importance of her point.

"Yeah I am!" Gilla shouted back, copying Linea's action with a giggle. "I'm teaching Jurez and Pament the songs!"

Both Jillen and Linea cackled at the image. "Maybe I should make you WeyrHarper instead," Jillen said as she stole a drink from Linea's cup.

"Can I?"

"Only when you can read and write better," Nigh reminded her, shooting her sisters a look to stop them from encouraging her.

"Yes, your mum is right," Jillen nodded as she picked up on the look. "You work really hard, and one day you can be WeyrHarper, ok?"

"Ok!"

Before they knew it, Linea was rushing off to go help some other riders clear out the soon-to-be Weyrling Barracks. After watching her leave, Jillen gave a sigh. "Can you make sure Dezetton tells me if he needs any more Healers immediately? I'm prioritising the other crafts right now, but I don't want you to be short staffed."

"I know there're only two of us, but there's barely anyone here to take care of," Nigh assured her.

"True. H'onn keeps reminding me that we have another eight turns before the Pass, but I guess having the name Weyrwoman makes me jumpy."

"How is the recruitment process going?"

"The crucial crafters we need right now are Smiths and Tanners, plus a DragonHealer. H'onn has some riders out visiting the Weyrs and Holds to ask for volunteers to move here, but we'll have to wait and see how they do."

Pausing slightly as Gilla finished her dinner and clambered onto her knee, Nigh gave a small 'hum'. "Are you looking for Candidates?"

"Not just yet. There's still some time before Gosforth rises. I am talking to the other Weyrs about gold rider transfers though. Whether any will agree or not is another matter."

"I certainly don't envy you."

Jillen gave Nigh a warm smile, albeit slightly sad. "As much as I'll complain, the work is worth it. This is our home now, and it's my duty to keep it that way."

After watching Jillen hurry off to continue her work, Nigh took all the dishes to the kitchen where the drudges quickly assured her they didn't need any help. So, with Gilla's hand tightly in her own, she decided to have a quick walk about the Weyr Bowl before returning to their weyr for the night. She knew the name of almost everyone in Tennar since there were so few, but that didn't mean she felt any less odd as she greeted every person she passed. Back in Benden, most had avoided Nigh. With each smile and greeting she received, Nigh found herself realising what belonging felt like.

"Mama! Dragon!" Gilla jumped up and down beside her as they stepped out into the Bowl, pointing up to the sky as Tennar's only blue circled down to land. The little girl pulled her hand from her mother's and raced across the Bowl.

"Gilla!" Nigh called as she hurried after her. Though she should have known no dragon here would hurt Gilla – especially Blue Riath, who was the most subdued beast in Tennar – Nigh still had to breathe a sigh of relief when the dragon didn't even move as the girl wrapped her arms around his leg. "Gilla! Dragons may not like you tackling them," she scolded as she pulled her daughter back.

"Ah, it's no problem!" I'sa called as he jumped down. "Riath's a cuddly thing."

"It's still rude of her, sorry." Nigh smiled apologetically and frowned at Gilla until she muttered an apology too.

I'sa said something that made Gilla laugh, but Nigh wasn't paying attention. She was instead focusing on the person who unsteadily slipped off Riath's back – staggering back from the dragon and looking quite pale. He dropped his bag on the ground next to him with a thud. As if I'sa had only just remembered his passenger, he gave a loud laugh and turned to pat the man on the back.

"See? Wasn't that easier than walking all the way from Southern Hold?"

"I think I'm going to be sick," the man grumbled, bending over and grimacing.

"Good thing one of our Healers is here then," I'sa chuckled, picking up the stranger's bag and throwing it over his shoulder. He turned back to Nigh with a friendly smile. "I was only going to Southern Hold to talk to their Smiths, and I managed to pick up a new rider and two Tanners! Lucky, huh?"

Nigh wasn't sure why he was telling her this, but she smile politely anyway. "Definitely. Can I ask why I only see one person then?"

"Oh! The other rider is bringing the other lad. They were stopping off at Gress to pick up some supplies, I believe," Glancing back at the still unsteady looking man, I'sa laughed again. "Come along, friend. I've got to go help clear out the Barracks soon!"

"I'm not your friend," the man protested. "And you don't need to wait around for me."

"Am I your friend?" Gilla suddenly blurted out, leaning to the side so she could peer around I'sa to the man.

His dark eyes flickered up, narrowing as he looked at the little girl, but he eventually moved his eyes to Nigh instead. "Is she going to cry if I say no?"

"Are you going to say no?" Nigh asked.

"Yes."

"Then yes, she'll cry if you say no."

"You're just saying that to annoy me aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Then," He looked back to Gilla. "No, you are not my friend."

The girl's expression slowly turned to a frown, and she dropped her eyes to the ground. The man continued to watch her, as if terrified for her to burst into tears. Eventually, Gilla looked back up and smiled again.

"Yet!"

"Excuse me?"

"You aren't my friend yet! But you will be!" Gilla assured him.

Raising an eyebrow, the man slowly straightened up and stared at Gilla carefully for a moment. Then, shaking his head, he snatched the bag from I'sa and began walking away – though Nigh doubted he knew exactly where he was going. I'sa said his goodbyes and hurried after the stranger, apparently still planning to help him move in.

Gilla, meanwhile, waved goodbye to her soon-to-be friend before looking back up to Nigh with a satisfied smile. Laughing, Nigh picked her daughter up and turned back towards the tunnels.

"You're terribly friendly to everyone."

"That's because everyone here is our new family!" Gilla wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and swivelled her head around to watch the man head inside one of the tunnels with I'sa. "I like him! Can I ask him to be my new daddy?"

Nigh felt her stomach twist.

"No sweetheart, you can't have a new daddy."


	3. A Man's Words

Thank you all again for reading! Hope you enjoy this chapter ^.^

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**Chapter Three: A Man's Words**

It may have been a little cruel of him, but Kain couldn't wait to reach the new Weyr and find out how Tomoa had dealt with the flight across. It deserved the idiot right for deciding to move to a Weyr; he was terrified of heights, hence why he disliked dragons so much. The two Tanners had managed to get to Southern Hold, only to find no one was willing to give them a lift to Tennar. It was starting to look like they'd have to walk across the Continent when the blue rider I'sa showed up. The look of horror on Tomoa's face would be beautifully etched into Kain's memory for the rest of his life.

In what he could only assume to be brilliant luck, another dragon rider overheard I'sa talking to the Tanners and requested to join them on their trip to Tennar. It was with this rider that Kain was travelling with.

From what Kain had learnt so far, the rider – A'lus – and his brown Tidyth were riders at Calos Weyr. He didn't specify what had happened, but A'lus made it quite clear that he was no longer comfortable or wanted at Calos, making Tennar was his only viable option. Kain didn't push to find out more – he supposed many people at this new Weyr would prefer to stay quiet about their reasons for moving.

Before heading to Tennar, they had to stop off in Gress – one of the smaller Holds that sat half way between Southern Weyr and Tennar. A'lus' parents lived there and had some of his possessions that he hadn't kept at Calos because of 'trust issues'. Again, Kain didn't pry. They would have left sooner, but A'lus' parents were extremely friendly and all but forced the two men to sit and have dinner with them before heading off.

By the time they landed in Tennar's Bowl, Rukbat had already set and Kain struggled to get a good look at the Weyr itself. As both men clambered off the dragon, they both looked around with strained eyes.

"I guess tomorrow will have to be for exploring, huh?" A'lus laughed, patting Tidyth's neck and waving at I'sa and Riath, who'd apparently been waiting for them.

"Good trip lads?" I'sa asked as he strolled over. He pointed a finger at A'lus with a smirk. "_You _are to go see the Weyrleader before you do anything; he likes to meet all the new riders immediately. I said I'll take you to him. And you," The finger turned to Kain. "Are you go to the Infirmary."

"The Infirmary?" A'lus asked confused. Kain, however, already had a decent guess as to what was going on and let out a groan. The chuckle from I'sa only confirmed his thoughts.

"So, is your friend always this accident-prone? I was worrying that Riath had scared him silly!" The blue rider shook his head.

Grabbing his bag from its resting place on the ground, Kain gave a gloomy nod. "Why do you think I'm moving with him?"

Soon enough, Kain found himself stepping into the Infirmary. He thought I'sa had directed him to the wrong place to start with – the room he found himself in didn't look like the clean and organised Infirmaries he knew – but he soon spotted a small group of people at the far side of the room.

Tomoa sat on the edge of a cot, a woman perched herself on a chair directly opposite him and dabbed at his bloodied face. On the cot opposite sat a little girl swinging her legs to and from, and she was chatting away to a man sitting at a nearby desk – the man didn't seem to be paying any attention to her.

"Are you his babysitter?" the girl called out to Kain when he noticed him approaching.

"Yes," he replied without even thinking twice about where she'd gotten the title 'babysitter' from. Not that it mattered, since it was pretty accurate. The woman nursing the deep cut on Tomoa's forehead and nose glanced up briefly at Kain to take him in. "How in Faranth's name did you do that?"

"He ran into the side of the Weyr!" the girl explained.

"Gilla, quiet," the woman scolded, though there was a smirk on her lips. "He wasn't looking where he was going and missed the entranceway."

Kain shot Tomoa a look, to which the blood-covered Tanner replied with "A beast was chasing me."

"That 'beast' is called a dragon," the woman corrected, moving on to start wrapping a bandage around Tomoa's forehead. His nose would have to be left uncovered. "And Riath wasn't even moving towards you!"

Gilla giggled. "Good thing mama is a Healer!"

As if just remembering her manners, the woman looked back up to Kain and gave him a nod. "Nigh," she introduced herself. "And I'm only an Apprentice. Dezetton's the WeyrHealer here." She motioned across at the dark-haired man who sat hunched over the desk. He raised his hand as if to acknowledge he was there, but didn't turn.

"Kain, Journeyman Tanner. And you've already met Tomoa."

Bouncing on the cot, Gilla clapped her hands. "Yeah we have! He's my new friend!"

"No I'm not," Tomoa protested as Nigh finished with her work.

"What I'm curious about," she said as she began tidying away the mess. "Is why you are here when you clearly don't like dragons."

Tomoa hesitantly touched his forehead and nose to check them. "This is the best place to move up the ranks in my craft."

Turning and raising her eyebrows like she didn't approve of the answer, Nigh crossed her arms and looked over the injured man. "You can't be long out of your Apprenticeship."

"I'm not. I'm nineteen."

"And what, you expect coming here will make you a Master in a few turns?"

"Well what's _your _reason for being here? Dragged here by your husband?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Kain thought he saw Gilla flinch. Nigh, however, definitely flinched. She bit her lip and glared down at Tomoa with some of the coldest eyes Kain had seen in quite a while.

"I'm here to start a new life with my daughter," she finally said, a slight growl in her voice.

Neither Tomoa or Nigh had a chance to say anything else, since across the room came a small scoff.

"There are two types of people," Dezetton muttered into his work, almost to himself.

His words seemed to soothe Nigh, but they only aggravated Tomoa, who turned and glowered at the WeyrHealer. "And which type are you?"

Sighing and placing down the book he'd been making notes in, Dezetton swung back on his chair to stare back at Tomoa – his face almost void of expression. "I'm here because this is where I was needed. I go where I will be beneficial _to_ my craft, not where the setting will be beneficial _for_ my craft."

There was a brief silence as the two men refused to break eye contact, both trying to win an unspoken challenge, and both succeeding at making Kain feel very uncomfortable.

Thankfully, there was a child in the room who was more than willing to break the silence.

"So... there are _three _types of people!" Gilla announced.

Dezetton's eyes flickered over to her and he nodded. "Well done, you show great numerical skills." He then turned back to his work.

As Kain forced a laugh to try and lighten the atmosphere, he looked back at Tomoa and Nigh – who were now back to glaring at one another. It seemed these two had already destroyed any chance of getting along; which was a shame, since Tomoa would no doubt need to know a Healer sooner or later.

"What about you Kay?"

It took Kain a moment to realise that Gilla had been addressing him, but he still looked at her questioningly to confirm that 'Kay' was indeed him.

"Why did you come here?" she asked.

Kain blinked, confused as to why she was asking him, but smiled anyway. "Because I have to look after Tomoa."

The answer seemed to startle Gilla for some reason, and when Kian glanced around he realised Nigh looked surprised too. Tomoa, on the other hand, just stared back with his usual half-smile of appreciation.

"That's nice," Gilla said. "I think you're the nicest out of the four types of people."

After the slightly bizarre meeting with the Healers, Nigh and Gilla showed the two Tanners their new weyrs. Kain quite liked his new accommodation; it was small, but just right for a crafter by himself. He was across the corridor from Tomoa – whether that was a good thing or not, would be decided later. Nigh gave them a quick rundown of the usual daily schedule; everyone was working together at the moment to finish cleaning the caverns so they were fit for use. She told them where they could find the area that would be the Tanner workshop, and suggested they do their own work there tomorrow. Nigh said she'd alert the Weyrwoman that two Tanner's had arrived in the morning.

And then, all of a sudden, Kain found himself standing in his new weyr by himself. Tomoa said his head was hurting and he wanted to go straight to bed, and so, as Kain started unpacking his bag, he felt oddly alone.

It was perhaps silly that a man of twenty turns should feel lonely his during his first night alone in a new home, but Kain certainly did. He lay awake for ages, listening to the unfamiliar sounds of the Weyr. Back in the Tanner hall, he could identify every voice that passed his door during the night; here, it was nothing but strangers. In the end, he only fell asleep thanks to the exhaustion...

...and was almost immediately woken up as he was shoved out of the bed.

"Shards!" Kain cried out as he felt himself topple off the bed, just moments before he slammed against the ground painfully.

"Up," Tomoa ordered. "I'm not missing breakfast for anything."

"I hate you. I hate you so much," Kain groaned into the floor, refusing to move even when Tomoa walked around and started kicking him softly.

"Love you too, buddy," Tomoa replied without any hint of emotion in his voice. "Now come on and get ready. We've yet to work out where the mess hall is."

It didn't take them long to get ready, and it took even less time to find the mess hall. They didn't have a clue where to go, but as soon as they stepped out into the Weyr Bowl – Kain moaning at the morning light – they watched every person making their way through one entrance. They made their way across at a pace that was a little too fast to be called 'walking'; it seemed Tomoa was going to need a while to get used to seeing dragons, especially dragons who were ripping wherrys apart just across the Bowl.

Compared to how big it was, the mess hall was hardly packed – but it did seem that most of Tennar's current residents had accumulated here. Despite the lack of sleep, Kain felt himself feeling quite warmed by the friendly atmosphere that filled the room. Everyone talked and joked with each other, and even the drudges were laughing away as they handed out food and drink.

"Glad I'm not the only newcomer to be here."

A hand clamped around Kain's shoulder, and he looked back to see a rather nervous looking A'lus standing behind him.

"Well, everyone seems welcoming enough," Kain smiled.

Beside him, Tomoa cringed and Kain narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but he soon heard an excited screech behind him that explained Tomoa's actions.

"Sit with us!" Gilla shouted over from the table where she sat with Nigh.

Giving the girl a friendly wave, Kain wrapped his hand around Tomoa's wrist and started dragging him across, motioning A'lus to follow too.

"I don't want to sit with them," Tomoa grumbled.

"You don't want to sit with anyone."

"Exactly!"

Much to Tomoa's disappointment, Kain pushed him into the seat opposite Nigh – who gave the Tanner a sarcastic smile. Falling into the seat beside his friend, Kain said his hellos and introduced A'lus to the Healer just as a drudge came over with some drinks.

Not a second later, I'sa jumped (literally) beside Gilla and dropped his own half-finished plate onto the table in front of him. "Looks like a right fun party you're having over here," he grinned.

Kain hadn't expected it, and he certainly hadn't planned it, but before he could even blink he was sitting amongst friends; all of them jumping into their new lives without the slightest inclination of what awaited them. What was to become of this Weyr they were creating, what would happen to those who resided here, it was all a mystery to them. He was oblivious to the short girl who sat on the table behind him and what he would one day have to do for her. He didn't give a second thought to the weight of his own words.

And in that moment, Kain was blissfully unaware that he was sitting with the people who he would soon have to turn to for help when his world collapsed around him.


	4. A Hatching's Shadow

The Tanners are my favourite characters to write. There's no doubt about it. Not that this chapter is in either of their POVs, of course!

Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter too ^.^

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**Chapter Four: A Hatching's Shadow**

In that turn that followed Tennar's founding, the weyrfolk somehow clung to the feeble life that they lived. The rest of Pern refused to acknowledge them, and so, without any tithes, Tennar was forced to try and survive on its own. Still, there wasn't a single man or woman inside Tennar's tunnels who didn't _want _to be there; and so, everyone played their part to create a Weyr that was held together by nothing but the bonds of those living inside it. It didn't matter if Pern was against them; a Weyr made of such bonds was not one so easily broken.

So, despite what the other Weyrs liked to think, everyone in Tennar was content with their lives and slowly they gained more residents.

Almost exactly a turn after its creation, the weyrfolk finally caught their first glimpse of Tennar's new generation. Jillen's Gosforth had Risen, caught by H'onn's Vissath, and there were at last eggs warming on the Sands. A small clutch, but a clutch nevertheless.

Pern denied Tennar the right to Search in any other Weyrs or Holds, and so all the Weyr could do was hope that Candidates would transfer of their own will. Of course, there were eligible candidates inside the Weyr itself.

Though, when Gosforth herself ordered Lucina to Stand for her eggs, not many could believe it.

The girl sat on the fence to the feeding grounds, a frown creased into her forehead as she chewed at her lip. Candidate life still wasn't something she felt accustomed to, despite having followed the schedule for a few sevendays now. It was clear from the boys and few girls who shared her lesson that they weren't too sure about her Standing. Shards, even the Candidatemaster B'ree seemed weary of her.

Girls like her just weren't meant to be dragon riders.

"Lucina!"

The familiar sing-song voice of her brother snapped Lucina from her silent moping. Turning around to see I'sa skipping towards her with his brown rider friend, she couldn't help but smile. Not because his presence made her forget about her worries, but because the idea of worrying him sickened her.

"Do me a favour and get off there, will you?" I'sa asked, his smile slightly strained as he wrapped his hand around her thin arm.

"I'm fine, I'sa," Lucina sighed, though she clambered down anyway. "I'm not going to shatter into pieces if I fall off a fence."

"Yeah, because you totally didn't do just that when you were four, or anything," I'sa remarked with a roll of his eyes – though he did look notably more relaxed.

Lucina had always been a small child: short and thin, and the epitome of 'fragile'. She certainly didn't look like a girl of seventeen turns with her tiny body. I'sa had spent their whole childhood trying to take care of her, wrapping her up in blankets to keep her safe.

And now she was Standing for Candidacy.

"The Hatching's got to be soon," A'lus stated with a warm smile as if he had read her worried thoughts.

"Tennar's first one, huh?" I'sa grinned, leaning back against the fence beside his sister. "And there're planning to start building a Hold on the other side of the river for us. Looks like Tennar's finally standing upright."

"About time too."

Lucina stood between the riders as they talked excitedly about the idea of finally having a tithed Hold, half-paying attention but mainly staring across into the Weyr Bowl as people went about their daily business. Lunch time was nearing its end, and she had no doubt she would be dragged off for her next chore soon enough.

"Oi! Get your Tanner butts over here!" I'sa suddenly screamed across the Bowl to someone – making Lucina jump in fright. It was a good thing she'd gotten off the fence; she probably would have fallen off in shock.

Following the blue rider's gaze, she spotted two men making their way over. One looked much happier to have been called over than the other. She did recognise them as her brother's crafter friends, but she hadn't really spoken to them much. Whilst the slightly shorter man looked friendly enough, the taller one had always made Lucina feel somewhat uncomfortable. It was strange; yes, he looked almost constantly grumpy, but it was something more than unnerved her – she just couldn't put her finger on it.

"You have no right to be ordering our butts around, blue rider," the shorter man spoke, pretending to punch I'sa in the arm.

"We're higher on the food chain here than you are, Kain," A'lus pointed out with a smirk. Kain just gave him a look.

The other Tanner seemed shifty – glancing over Lucina's head at the dragons in the feeding grounds, as if waiting for them to strike out at him. "What is it? We've got work to do, unlike _some_ people."

"Shards, Tomoa," I'sa pouted. "Can't we just say hello? Besides, it's lunch time; why are you still working?"

"Tomoa likes to follow his own schedule, you should know that by now," Kain smirked, elbowing his fellow Tanner in the side. He received no reaction.

"Oh!" I'sa exclaimed. He reached around to wrap his arm around Lucina's shoulders. "You guys know my sister, right? Lucina."

Kain looked down at the Candidate and grinned. "I believe we've passed here and there."

"Yeah, that's right." Lucina nodded. Her eyes flickered over to Tomoa – who seemed to only just become aware of her presence and stared down at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You're really short."

"Tomoa!" Kain hissed.

"Don't worry, you're kinda short too, Kain."

Forcing a laugh, Lucina waved the comment away. "It's ok. It's not exactly a secret."

Tomoa nodded and crossed his arms. "Of course it's not; you're quite clearly a midget."

"Are you going to stop yet?" I'sa frowned.

"Your dragon is staring at me."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"I feel under pressure when beasts stare at me. I may lash out erratically; my Healer told me."

"Kain said nothing of the sort!"

"Ok, Tomoa; you finally have friends who are actually Healers, and yet they still assume_ I'm_ your Healer. What does that sharding tell you?"

"That Nigh is really bad at her job?"

Shuffling uncomfortably as the argument between her brother and the Tanners escalated, Lucina leaned towards A'lus and muttered, "Can I leave now, or would that be rude?"

"It wouldn't be rude at all. In fact, it would be wise," A'lus chuckled back at her. The three men didn't even notice the Candidate leave – A'lus followed her though, claiming he was 'too tired' to deal with his friends today.

"Have you had the touching yet?" he asked as they made their way across the Bowl.

"Oh yeah, a few days ago," Lucina nodded. "Gosforth seemed grumpier than usual."

"I can imagine," A'lus gave a sigh. Lucina supposed he'd dealt with plenty of hatchings before; this would be her first. I'sa may have lived in Southern Weyr, but she'd been living at the Weaver crafthall in Southern Boll. Her brother had asked her to come to Tennar as they needed crafters – even Apprentices. Of course, that was before she knew the Queen herself would tell her to Stand.

Her train of thought was heading down this direction once again when A'lus interrupted.

Bringing up the very topic the whole Weyr was dancing around.

"So, is it true?" he murmured quietly – like he didn't want people to overhear. Behind, Tidyth suddenly landed with a thump and trudged along after them. "About the deformed egg?"

Lucina bit her lip, staring at the floor. "Yes."

From the moment the clutch was on the Sands, whispers of a deformed egg had travelled through the Weyr. The Weyrwoman banned all for entering, naturally, but she also didn't talk about the eggs as much as people expected. At the touching, the Candidates had seen exactly what she'd been keeping quiet.

The clutch had thirteen eggs, and sadly no gold from what they could see. However, there was one egg, large enough to be a gold, sitting in the very centre of the clutch.

And the egg was black.

"Oh," A'lus stated. "So it's really..."

"Black," Lucina nodded. "Its shell is dull, and slightly lumpy. Gosforth wouldn't let anyone touch it, so no one knows if it feels different."

"It might not be deformed... just discoloured?"

"It's such a large egg, it could only be a gold. But..."

"Golden eggs aren't black."

"No eggs are."

Behind them came an ear-splintering scream. Snapping their heads around, Lucina and A'lus stared back at the three arguing men. I'sa clung to his arm as if he was in pain.

"You punched me! You sharding punched me!" I'sa bellowed at the Tanner.

"That was me lashing out erratically."

* * *

The only part of Candidate life that Lucina could legitimately say she truly enjoyed was the second lesson of the day; and that was just because it was working the other Weavers. There were only three currently; one Master and two Journeymen. Lucina loved her time working here; the other Weavers treated her well and she enjoyed listening to their gossip.

Today was even more amusing than usual: Master Humne was complaining about the 'deadglow Tanners'. There were only two Tanners in Tennar currently, and Lucina had run in with both of them just that lunch time.

"...and then there's that tall one! He's the worst," Humne grumbled. "He's the worse than a grumpy wher!"

"Isn't he your brother's friend, Lucina?" Addla asked with a grin.

Looking up from her needlework practice, Lucina gave a meek nod – quickly looking away again as Humne threw his hands up in the air in exasperation and started complaining again.

The only thing that silenced him was the sudden hum that filled the Weyr.

Dropping her needle in fright, Lucina turned towards the door, feeling her stomach do a full rotation of worry.

"The hatching!" Addla cheered. Jumping up, she tugged on Lucina's arm. "Go on girl, good luck!"

If it wasn't for her fellow Weaver pushing her out of the door, Lucina probably wouldn't have moved at all. Her legs felt like stones, refusing to move as she willed them. Stumbling into the Bowl towards the Candidate Barracks, her mind was completely drowned by the haunting hum.

"Lucina! What are you doing? Come on!"

Was that Natania who'd grabbed her arm? Or Olette? When had she reached her room? How long had she been holding the white robes in front of her?

The answers didn't really matter. The only thing that did matter was that she suddenly found herself standing on those hot Sands. Around her stood the other Candidates. In front rested the shaking eggs. Behind her...

She looked back at the stands that had only been completed a few days before Gosforth's Flight. Her eyes scanned the crowd that sat there until she at last found her brother. He sat right at the front, along with A'lus, the Tanners and the Healers. Every single one of them – with the exception of the moody WeyrHealer and Tomoa, of course – gave her a reassuring smile. She had no doubt her face told everyone just how terrified she was.

Turning back to the eggs, she felt herself shivering. She couldn't do this. She really couldn't. It was all happening too fast and she wasn't ready yet. She was too short, too thin, too weak. Everyone here knew it, everyone was thinking it; there was no way Lucina could be a dragon rider.

So why was she here? She didn't understand.

Gulping in a breath when she realised she was struggling to breathe, she stared at the dark egg that sat amongst the others. The lumpy surface. So dark, light didn't even seem to touch the dull shell.

_Crack._

It cracked.

The mutant egg cracked.

Lucina barely noted the hush that fell over the Sands as all the eggs suddenly stopped moving; all but the black one. Slowly, the shell broke away, like it was just dissolving without the dragon inside moving.

And then it stepped out. Disregarding the other eggs that surrounded it and stepping on them instead. The black hide; as if the dragon was the absence of light itself. Nothing but a large shadow sweeping over the Sands towards the Candidates.

Its body was rigid and its head bent low, but there was some twisted sense of pride about the way it walked... like it was too good to even bother judging those around it.

Lucina began to wonder if the dragon was planning to just walk right out of the Sands without even looking at anyone.

But then it stopped.

It stopped in front of her.


	5. A Dragon's Rider

**Chapter Five: A Dragon's Rider**

There was nothing but a horrified silence on the Sands. Every set of eyes stared ahead at the strange hatchling standing in front of the short girl, lost for words. Nigh watched as Lucina's face slowly changed, as if she couldn't quite believe what was happening either. There was no doubt in Nigh's mind that the Weaver was talking to the dragon.

"Mama," Gilla murmured, turning around in Nigh's lap. "Why's everyone so quiet?"

"Because... because..." Nigh couldn't get any words out.

From beside her, Tomoa lent a little closer and answered on Nigh's behalf. "Because that's not a real dragon."

"Tomoa," came Kain's hiss from the other side of the Tanner.

"What? We're all thinking it."

"That's my sister's dragon you're talking about," I'sa growled from further along.

"We don't know that yet."

Nigh didn't pay much attention to what the idiots beside her were now arguing about in whispers. The sights on the Sands were too demanding of her attention. It wasn't the strange black hatchling and Lucina that she was looking at, nor was it the remaining frozen eggs; it was the gold and her rider beyond that. Gosforth seemed to be growing impatient, and as for Jillen... well, Nigh's half-sister looked like she was panicking.

"Of course it's not a bronze, it's way too dark! It must be a brown," I'sa's voice argued a little louder.

"What are you talking about? He's way too big for a brown," A'lus scoffed in response.

Chatter and worried whispers began to ripple through the stands; everyone trying desperately to understand what was happening in front of them. Gilla started wriggling in her mother's lap, and soon pushed herself out of Nigh's arms. Moving forward, she leant against the barrier and stared across inquisitively at the dark dragon.

And then Lucina moved.

Silence fell once again, as everyone watched the girl's head slowly turn away from the dragon – her eyes staying locked on it until the last possible second. Her arm lifted as she looked towards the stands.

She was pointing at them.

Nigh's heart gave a panicked flutter, and she unconsciously reached out to grab Gilla's arm. Something about Lucina's horrified eyes frightened her.

The black dragon's head snapped around, following Lucina's finger until it stared into the stands. Then it began moving forward, past the girl, until it stood directly in front of the spectators. It cold eyes were just as dark as the rest of its hide. They chilled Nigh to the core, and her arm tightened on Gilla's.

Not a soul breathed, except for the little girl. Stretching her free arm out down towards the black, she let out an excited giggle. The hatchling looked straight at the child, and its narrowing eyes were the last push Nigh needed to pull Gilla back into her arms – her whole body shivering with fear.

Mercifully, the dark thing stopped staring at the little girl. Only to stare straight at herself. It was only for a second though, for a voice from the stands seemed to disturb it.

"Make it leave."

Trembling, Nigh peered at Tomoa beside her. His eyes wide and his whole body rigid with terror.

"Kain," he said again. "Make the damned thing leave."

"Tomoa," Kain placed a hand on his friend's arm reassuringly. "It'll leave soon, I promise."

The hatchling let out a quiet growl – its eyes fixed on Tomoa.

"Shut up..." Tomoa gasped.

"Tom...?"

"Shut up."

The concern built up even higher in Nigh's chest. "Tomoa, what's wrong?"

"NO!" Tomoa suddenly screamed, jumping up. The sudden movement sent a wave of flinches and yelps through the crowd. "Shut up right now! Leave!"

Nigh met Kain's eyes, and saw the same panic in him that she felt.

"Shut up!" Tomoa pressed his hands against his ears, squeezing his eyes shut desperately. "I'm not a Candidate! I'm not a sharding rider! Stop talking!"

Gilla quivered in Nigh's arms, huddling into her mother as they all watched Tomoa scream down at the dragon. Looking at a loss, Kain stood up to try and calm his fellow Tanner, but Tomoa just pushed him away.

Grabbing the barrier with his pale hands, Tomoa threw himself down onto the Sands – making Nigh squeal in fright to begin with. Everyone on the stands suddenly rose to their feet to watch as the Tanner landed haphazardly and marched towards the hatchling. It didn't move as the man stood before it – thundering down at it.

"I don't give a shard about that!" Tomoa roared. "Go back to that girl! I don't want you!"

The dragon started growling, snapping and barking at Tomoa, but never actually touching him. It seemed that was the last straw for the golden queen.

"Get off my Sands!" Jillen bellowed in time with her dragon's screech.

Whilst it seemed the hatchling and Tomoa cared nothing for the Weyrwoman's orders, both Kain and A'lus jumped over the barrier and scrambled towards the Tanner. Grabbing Tomoa, they begun to drag the Tanner off the Sands. He kicked and screamed, cursing and shouting towards the dark dragon that follow him out – replying with its own roars of anger.

As they disappeared out into the Bowl, Nigh jumped to her feet – pushing Gilla into I'sa's arms, hurrying out. As she broke out into the Bowl, she glanced around before spotting the group over by the forest that lined the edge the Tennar. The closer she got, the more she realised Tomoa had thankfully quietened a little.

Stopping beside A'lus, she stared wide-eyed at the sight of the dark dragon in front of her – still appearing just as black as it had on the Sands. Kain stood a few paces away, acting as some sort of blockade between the dragon and Tomoa.

Nigh had seen plenty of men pass through the Infirmary – whether that be here at Tennar or back before she had Gilla – but she had never seen one look as distraught as Tomoa did in that moment.

"This isn't happening," he muttered as he pulled at his own hair. "This can't be happening."

"Tomoa, you have to calm down," Nigh ordered – though it sounded more like a plea. "If you have Impressed this dragon, then you should be proud of yourself. You can't do this; imagine what it's doing to it!"

_Finally, a party member who seems to have sense._

Crying out in fright Nigh jumped against A'lus – who automatically wrapped his arms around her. Staring back at the dark dragon, who was watching her, Nigh began to wonder if she'd really just heard its voice.

_As my rider seems to have the inability to do anything but yell at me, I shall talk to you instead._

"Oh Faranth," Nigh muttered, feeling slightly dazed. "It's talking to me..."

_I would appreciate it if you all stopped referring to me as an object, _the dragon grumbled.

"S... sorry?"

_Yes, you should apologise. I am Aath. The dragon of the great T... well, right now he's the whimpering T'oa... Pull yourself together, man!_

Tomoa didn't even respond.

_Support! Convey to my rider, the displeasure I have in his actions!_

Nigh jumped at the sudden order and, almost without thinking, turned to Tomoa and opened her mouth to speak. It was only when she'd gotten this far that she stopped and realised what the dragon had referred to her as. The only reason she had reacted was because of the authority this dragon seemed to have over her. It was... almost gold-like.

_I am no gold, don't be so ignorant, Support, _Aath snapped. _I am a black. Black Aath of whimpering T'oa. However, feel free to treat me with as much respect as you would a gold, though I would prefer more. _

"There's no such thing as a black dragon..." Nigh muttered.

Kain's eyes snapped over to her. "If it's talking to you that means it hasn't Impressed Tomoa, right?" His words seemed just as desperate as Tomoa's had been.

_Tell the Defence I am a 'he', not an 'it'._

"He," Nigh mumbled. "Aath is a he. And he has Impressed Tom... T'oa."

"Don't call me that!" Tomoa screeched.

Aath smacked his tail against the ground. _Support, tell my rider that he will only make his headache worse if he continues to act like this._

"He says your headache will get worse," Nigh said aloud.

Tomoa seemed to understand what the message meant, and he glowered down at the dragon. It may have not been the best circumstances, nor the healthiest output, but this was still the most emotion Nigh had ever seen from Tomoa.

"What you're saying doesn't even make sense! It's _impossible_," he growled towards the dragon. Aath seemed unbothered by the claim.

"Ok stop!" A'lus yelled. Letting go of Nigh, he marched across and pushed the two Tanners apart – keeping a hold on Tomoa's shirt. "Whether you like it or not, you're a dragon rider now, and this is your bonded. If you take a moment to calm down, maybe you'll realise that it's not as sharding terrible as you're making it out to be. Frankly, I find it kind of offending to see you react like this."

Tomoa looked furious at A'lus' words, but he stopped yelling and froze.

A'lus turned to Kain. "I get that you're his best friend and you want to help him, but you're not helping anyone by continuing to deny that he's a rider. And you," he looked around at the dragon. "Help your rider out, don't aggravate his state."

_The Watch is bold to give me orders, _Aath snorted. _However, I shall let it pass this once. _

"Now, _T'oa_, you should be feeding Aath now. He's probably starving."

_Support, alert the Watch that I require no food as of yet. There is work to be done before I may rest._

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Nigh asked –no longer able to avoid the question.

_Because you are the Support. How is that so difficult to understand?_

"What's a Support?"

"It keeps going on about that!" Tomoa interrupted. "It keeps rambling on about the Support and the Defence and whatever. It isn't making sense!"

Aath let out a growl.

"I don't _want _to listen!"

A'lus snarled. "If you two don't cut it out I'm going to shove your head so far into the ground that–"

"–you'll be making friends with grubs."

A'lus stared at Tomoa with a gaping mouth.

"How... did you know I was going to say that...?"

Tomoa looked just as surprised as A'lus did, but he dropped his eyes.

"Aath said it first... I just repeated it unconsciously."

"But... _how?_"

_Watchers are all the same. Even their threats._


	6. A Word's Weight

Apologies for being away! It's been my final assignment week at uni, so I've been super busy with work! Anyways, back to proper story posting hopefully! Thanks very much for reading, and I hope you enjoy! ^.^

* * *

**Chapter Six: A Word's Weight**

One thing was certain; the recent events had really shown T'oa just how kind the Weyrwoman of Tennar was, as well as how terrifying she was. As soon as Jillen had been able to leave the Hatching Sands, she'd dragged T'oa to her office and sat him down with a cup of klah. After leaving for a while to talk in worried mutters with the Weyrleader in the corridor (believing that T'oa couldn't hear them), she returned and talked things through with the Tanner.

Not that he wanted to talk things through, of course; he wanted to dunk his head in ice cold water and wake up from this nightmare. Or he wanted to kick the annoying black beast that kept following and rambling on at him.

Actually, both would be good.

"You're not making this any easier, T'oa," Jillen sighed, though her expression hinted at sympathy. T'oa had all but given up fighting back against being referred to by that rider-like name.

"Where's Kain?" he asked, his head in his hands.

"In the Infirmary."

His fingers dug into his own head. "Why isn't he here?"

"Because when someone has their arms scratched so deeply that they bleed, they usually need to get bandages."

_I tried to tell you to stop it._

T'oa gritted his teeth. "Don't talk to me."

_You need to listen to me!_

Slamming his hands into the table, T'oa's eyes snapped round to glare at the beast across the room. "I don't need to do anything you tell me to."

Jillen waited patiently for the two to stop arguing before giving another small sigh – an action that T'oa seemed to bring up in a lot of people right now. "You two may sleep in one of the guest weyrs tonight – though they are by no means cleared out yet. Unless you want to sleep in the Barracks with the other new weyrlings?"

"No."

"That's what I thought," A smile tugged at the Weyrwoman's lips. Standing, she beckoned them to follow her. She seemed intent on placing them in a weyr right beside her own; no doubt so she and Gosforth could keep an eye on them. She hadn't been kidding when she said it wasn't cleared out; there was clutter and rubble strewn across the floor. The bed was perhaps the only thing that wasn't caked in dust and dirt.

_Is _this _what I'm expected to sleep on? _Aath snorted as he stood in front of the couch – certainly not the most appealing one T'oa had seen, but that only made him smirk.

"H'onn or I will come and get you in the morning. Please try and get some sleep, and, if possible, work out a truce at least."

The Weyrwoman gave a nod before turning to leave.

"Weyrwoman?"

She paused and looked back.

"Be truthful. How messed up is this situation?"

"Excuse me?"

T'oa glanced at Aath – who was still fussing over the dirty couch and trying to clean it without touching it.

"Have I been laden with a mutant?"

He heard a sharp intake of breath from Jillen – as if the word hadn't already been on everyone's minds. Even Aath paused and looked back at T'oa; his dark eyes staring right into him, and leaving the Tanner feeling strangely hollow. Perhaps he should have felt guilty after seeing Aath look at him like that – like the beast was actually hurt – but instead, T'oa felt nothing.

"You've been given one of the greatest gifts someone could ask for: a lifemate." Jillen said. "That is all."

The funny thing was, Jillen actually sounded like she meant it. T'oa watched her out of the corner of his eye as she felt the two alone in the weyr. Once the sounds of her footsteps had vanished, T'oa turned away from the beast's judging eyes and moved across to the bed – stripping his shirt off as he went.

His head pounded; it hadn't stopped since Aath had first spoken to him. It was as if there was something trying to break into his mind, trying to steal his thoughts away. Actually, as he pulled back the bed covers, he supposed that was exactly what was happening.

As he fell into bed and buried his face into his pillows, he felt a chill run through him as he remembered Kain was in the Infirmary. It was like he was losing his mind. He couldn't recall hurting his friend, but it wasn't like he could recall anything from the past few candlemarks but Aath's stinging voice.

_My voice does not sting._

T'oa immediately groaned. Why was this damned beast in his head again? It only made matters worse when he turned his head to see the black creature standing staring at him by his bedside. Somehow, he wasn't shocked; everywhere he turned Aath was already there. Still, the black face wasn't a welcome sight.

_My words might sting, I suppose, _Aath pondered, like he was really thinking through the idea. _But I believe my voice to be soothing and majestic. Though, it still demands to be heard, as any Queen's does. Except male. And better._

"You know, even if you weren't intent on claiming to be my dragon, or if you were an actual human, or something, I'd still hate your personality." T'oa turned his head again, closing his eyes to try and block out the moronic beast.

_And despite the fact that you are my rider, I despise your personality too, _Aath assured him. _Now, let me sleep here._

Letting out a harsh laugh, T'oa sat up and scoffed at the dragon. "You want to what?"

_Sleep on this bed. I feel ill just looking at that couch._

"I'm sleeping here."

_That's fine. It can be like a bonding exercise. I don't require much room._

Ignoring any protests (of which there were many), Aath clambered up onto the bed, dodging T'oa's kicking legs and flailing arms, before letting himself fall down at the bottom of the bed.

"Get your fat backside off my bed!" T'oa yelled, pushing at the black's body.

_If you hadn't freaked out, we would be sleeping in the Barracks and this wouldn't have happened._

"So what? This is your twisted way of punishing me!" T'oa snarled. "Move! My leg is going numb!"

_I would never be so immature as to punish you for being afraid of becoming one with my mightiness, _Aath still shuffled slightly to let T'oa free his leg. _But you may call this passive aggression, if you wish._

"This seems like pretty direct aggression to me."

_Hm, perhaps it is then. I'm not sure; it's been a very tiring day. _

Neither Aath or T'oa said anything else for a moment; the beast shut his eyes and began breathing calmly, with his tail and one back legs lulling off the side of the bed. T'oa was left to staring at him, trying so hard to work out what this thing wanted, and why it had to linger around him to get it. He was exhausted; he didn't want to fight anymore, but he also couldn't bear the thought of giving into to this creature.

As if monitoring his thoughts (which, actually, he was probably doing), Aath opened his eyes and turned his head lazily to the side to look at T'oa. _Am I really that disgusting to you?_

The question shocked T'oa a little, even unnerved him a little. He fell back into his pillows to avoid eye contact. "You're a mutant."

_Who says?_

"There's no such thing as black dragons."

Aath let out a grunt, and suddenly begun moving. Before T'oa knew it, the black was standing over him.

_I am right here, _Aath snarled the words, though something told T'oa that the beast wasn't being threatening. _I, a black dragon, am standing right in front of you. I exist. Why can't you believe that?_

"B-because…" T'oa didn't have an answer.

_You do not know just how much I understand that I am an abnormality. If you listened to me, or let me into your mind properly, you would see just what that word can do. That word is never going to leave me alone. It will follow me and all those like me wherever we go all our lives. You, T'oa, are my rider. I thought you were supposed to protect me from that word, not be the one to use it._

"G-get off…"

_I'm sorry, am I scaring you? Good. Perhaps you might understand if fear reinforces my point, _Aath moved his head closer to T'oa. The Tanner desperately tried to push his head back into the pillows – to move away from the black – but to no avail. _It is your job to help me. To help the others. It is why I chose you, and it is why you must listen to me. _

"You don't make any sense! There aren't any others like you!"

_There will be! There will be many others, they simply aren't here yet._

T'oa forced a laugh. "What? You planning a world take over or something?"

_I see it. I see what is to come for those like me. I see all of them, every single one. Each Lost. Each Defence. Each _'mutant'_ as you so beautifully put it. I see those next turn. I see those 500 turns away. I see what is to happen, what must happen, and what can't happen._

"You're not making sense!"

_Then listen and you might understand!_

"No!"

Aath's roar ripped through both T'oa's ears and his mind. Slowly, the black's expression softened though.

_Fine. You can whimper away about your job, we have a little bit of time. One turn, to be exact. But, _T'oa didn't like the sound of the 'but'. _But at least open up to me. There is a lot of cruelness coming our way; can I at least share that burden with you?_ _Can you at least listen to what I have to say? Then I will let you have this turn to think._

Pausing briefly – though there was no real thought process going through his mind – T'oa let out a shaky breath. He could hear footsteps outside in the corridor; someone had probably heard Aath's roar and grew worried.

Then he nodded.

The relief on Aath's face was almost instant; T'oa had never seen the black look so… _happy_.

"What in Faranth's name is happening in here?" Jillen yelled into the weyr as she pushed her way inside. T'oa went to say something but Aath decided to let his legs have a rest, and the big black body came falling down on top of him.

As the air was knocked out of him from the force, T'oa coughed and fought against the heavy lump lying across him. The Weyrwoman was apparently too shocked at the sight to say anything else but a few stammered questions.

"Me and the dragon are…" T'oa coughed again. "Having some bonding exercises."

"Oh… ok…" Jillen said hesitantly. "I'll just… Just be quiet…" She slipped back out of the room without another word.

T'oa was grateful, as it meant he could groan in pain at the weight on his chest. He breathed out a few curses as he tried to wriggle out from under Aath. Aath, however, had other ideas and stared down at T'oa with wide eyes once again.

"What?" the Tanner snarled. "Finally realising that this is aggression is completely direct?"

_No, _the black said. _It's just, you called me a dragon._

"Oh, sorry beast. That was an accident."

Disliking the look that was lingering on Aath's face, T'oa grabbed the black's nose and tried to push him away. It worked a little better, and he was able to sit up properly again. "So, if I listen to you, you'll leave me to think about it?"

_For the next turn, yes._

"Why only a turn?"

_If you listen to me, you'll understand._

"Shards," T'oa rubbed his head. "If I have to be a damn dragon rider, you better not be this controlling during Threadfall."

_That is irrelevant._

T'oa narrowed his eyes. "Threadfall is here in eight turns, how is it irrelevant?"

_You're afraid of heights, are you not? How would you propose to fly?_

"Don't bring that up."

_But that is relevant. I hardly see flying to be a possibility in our future. I don't believe you'll ever get over your trauma._

"You need to learn to shut up," T'oa growled. "Let's just forget the flying for now, you'll still need to stop being so controlling or you'll get us killed by Thread."

_Didn't I just say Threadfall is irrelevant?_

"And I just said to forgot about flying for now."

_Whether you overcome your fear of heights or not, Threadfall is irrelevant. _

"Wait… why?"

_Because we won't be around to see it._

"What…"

_Time to listen, T'oa._

T'oa had thought he'd been the one to keep most of his mind to himself. He thought he'd been successful in keeping Aath out. However, as he was suddenly punched with the flood of thoughts and images that the black sent through the bond, he realised that Aath was kinder than he'd thought.

It was Aath who'd been holding back.

And as turns of knowledge passed across his eyes, T'oa realised why.


	7. A Dead Man's Silence

Apologises for how long it took to get this out! I shall not bore you with my list of reasons . Anyways, back to more regular posting now *touch wood*. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

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**Chapter Seven: A Dead Man's Silence**

It had been over a sevenday since the hatching and I'sa was sincerely regretting becoming friends with a bunch of argumentative and irritable crafters.

Mainly because every one of them was apparently having a mental breakdown.

"For Faranth's sake Kain," Nigh growled as she towered over the Tanner who was slumped at his desk. "I _will _manually shove food down your throat if you skip another meal."

"I'm busy. Can you just damn well leave me be?" Kain's eyes didn't leave the hides he was scribbling some sort of design on. I'sa would have loved to know what the crafter had even been doing all this time; he seemed to be just drawing and not actually working. It was a good thing Tennar wasn't in desperate need for the Tanner work – since they only had two and… well… both of them were _indisposed._

"Come on, Kain," A'lus smiled softly, putting his hand on the man's shoulder. "Why don't we go out for a walk?"

"Go away."

"Agh!" Nigh pulled at her hair. "I am so sharding sick of you! You're turning into a slightly less rude version of Tomoa!"

"T'oa," A'lus corrected.

A cutting laugh from Kain made I'sa shudder. The Tanner turned around and stared at the brown rider – it was the first time I'sa had gotten a proper look at just how tired and drained Kain was. Shadows that large didn't belong under such a young Journeyman's eyes.

"You sure about that name?" he asked. "Because, shards, it's been a sevenday and I've seen no evidence of this _T'oa_," The harsh smile wavered; his lips twitching as the painful thought set in. I'sa supposed this was what the Tanner was trying to block out with his constant working. "Over a sevenday… actually… and not so much as a whisper about him…"

"Kain…"

Kain turned back to his desk, though he made no effort to continue drawing. "I thought the Weyrwoman was your half-sister, Night? Why can't you find out where he is? Find out if he's ok…"

"She won't talk to me about it, I told you."

"Why… what's going on?"

No one was sure what to do. It was hardly just your average friendship problems. Still, until they heard _something_ about T'oa and that strange black dragon, I'sa and his friends were left with nothing to do.

"I need some air," he murmured to A'lus as Nigh and Kain started shouting once again. The brown rider nodded in understanding, and I'sa quickly made his way out into the Bowl. Riath was waiting patiently for him, and watched the rider approach with worried eyes.

"Don't give me that look if you're not going to tell me anything about what's going on either," I'sa frowned, patting the blue's side.

_I never said I knew anything._

'_I'm well aware there's some sort of silent pact going around that none of the dragons will comment on that black one. Don't underestimate the minds of your lifemates.'_

_I am sorry._

'_Don't worry,' _I'sa rubbed his neck and let his eyes gaze over those milling around in the evening light. _'I shall assume you have your reasons. Thankfully, Kain has no idea about the mini dragon mutiny we have.'_

Riath gave a small whimper. _There is no mutiny… Aath has simply told us to quiet._

Raising an eyebrow, I'sa gave the blue a side-glance. _'So you _are _talking to the black dragon?'_

_Not exactly… we just feel… _The blue apparently wasn't even sure what word to use. I'sa could feel his mind grabbing for ways to explain this feeling. _We feel there's something about him, and he knows we feel it._

It didn't warrant a reply from I'sa – he didn't understand what was going on, but he knew Riath always had the best intentions for him at heart. Still, as he looked up at all the ledges lining Tennar's face, he wondered just what was going on in this Weyr.

A sudden shock that flooded Riath's mind drew I'sa's back to the dragon. Following the blue's gaze, he stared across the Bowl at a couple of people speaking near the entrance to the mess hall. One towered over the other, and there was a dark hatchling standing…

"T'oa!" I'sa exclaimed only a second before his legs were sprinting across the Bowl.

Sure enough, the closer he got, the clearer the familiar emotionless face of the Tanner became. I'sa couldn't hide the grin that spread over his face as T'oa's head lifted to look over at him.

And it dropped immediately.

The Tanner's face was lined with cuts and scratch marks, fresh blood still seeped from one near his eye. Similar marks covered every part of skin on show – of which there was very little – it almost hid how unnaturally pale the man was. Sure, there was no emotion in his face as he stared back at I'sa, but he seemed to radiate some horrible pain that the blue rider couldn't understand.

Coming to a stop, I'sa's eyes glanced over the black dragon standing behind T'oa – already looking much bigger than it's fellow hatchlings.

If anyone else had been in I'sa's position, they would have no doubt panicked over T'oa and his appearance; unfortunately, what worried I'sa the most was why the torn-up black weyrling was talking to his little sister.

Lucina looked sheepish; her eyes stayed fixated on her feet as she shifted uncomfortably.

"What's…" I'sa quickly discovered that he could only create some terrible croaky and panicked sound.

T'oa turned back to Lucina. "You get what I'm saying, right?" Even his voice sounded different than it had before the hatching. His words made Lucina stiffen.

"I… I'll think about it," she whispered.

"There's no thinking about it," T'oa sighed. "Just do it."

"Hey!" I'sa stepped between the two once he found his voice. "You can't make her do anything. What's going on?"

T'oa seemed to stare right through him. "Did you know she'd dropped out of Candidacy?"

"Yes, of course! She didn't Impress, so she's allowed to. The Weyrwoman and Gosforth said it was ok."

"That is because their lack of knowledge and foresight leaves them inadequate."

I'sa's eyes widened.

Had he really just heard those words come out of T'oa's mouth? They didn't sound like they belonged to him at all… they sounded like…

He peered over at Aath; sitting completely still and quiet, watching the conversation with eyes that left I'sa feeling very uncomfortable.

"T'oa… where've you been? What's happening?" he asked, unable to hold eye contact with that dragon for too long.

There was a moment of silence before T'oa shrugged and began to walk away. "Just make sure Lucina is on the Sands for the next hatching; not all dragons are as stubborn as the beast."

Aath let out a small growl as he followed T'oa further into the Bowl. Shooting his sister one last confused look to which she didn't respond, I'sa hurried after the Tanner-turned-Weyrling, feeling annoyance building in his chest.

"T'oa," He ignored Riath's voice in the back of his head, asking him to stop questioning. "You can't just Impress a dragon from the stands, vanish for a sevenday–"

"Nine days."

"Huh?"

"I was gone for nine days, not just a sevenday."

"Yeah… fine, you can't vanish for nine days, and then turn up looking like you do without so much as an apology or an explanation!"

T'oa stopped and turned, a frown in his features. "What do I have to apologise for?"

"Go see Kain and you might understand."

Rolling his eyes, T'oa continued to walk. I'sa did note the slight change in direction to the Tanner crafting room. "Kain should be grateful to get some time off looking after me."

"Ha! He'd rather have to baby you then not know where in Faranth's name you are."

Almost as if he'd heard his name being mentioned, Kain stumbled out of the entrance into the Bowl. Since Riath was sitting besides A'lus' Tidyth, I'sa assumed the brown had alerted his rider of T'oa's presence outside. The sight of Kain made T'oa stop yet again, and as I'sa carefully examined the weyrling's features, he was sure that horrible pain in his eyes intensified.

I'sa was more than happy to now move back over to Riath; assuming that T'oa would be more likely to speak if it was just to Kain. It also meant he could hand over the 'worrying-over-the-idiot' responsibility to Kain, and he could go back to being concerned about Lucina.

_You're not the best at making assumptions, I'sa… _Riath's soft voice told him.

'_What do you mean?'_

Riath didn't have time to tell him to turn around – the blue's small squeak and Tidyth's grumble was enough to make I'sa look back over his shoulder.

Just in time to see Kain tackle T'oa to the ground.

"Great shells and stars!"

Something told I'sa that tackle hadn't been an 'I've-missed-you' tackle. He started sprinting back towards the two just as Nigh and A'lus did. Kain had already thrown the first punch by the time anyone reached them.

"I'm going to kill you!" he screamed, grabbing T'oa's jacket and shaking him against the ground. A'lus' grabbed Kain's arms and hauled him away. He continued to shout, though tears streamed down his face as well.

"By the Egg, T'oa..." Nigh gasped as she fell to her knees beside him; examining all the wounds on his face – inflicted by Kain or otherwise.

Kain didn't stop. "After all this time, how dare you disappear on me! I did not follow you across Pern for this crap!"

"Come on, Kain, calm down!" I'sa begged, aware of the growing number of spectators.

"No! You know why? Because I didn't spend all this time keeping him alive for him to vanish and reappear looking like he'd been caught out during Threadfall!"

T'oa scoffed.

It silenced everyone.

"I don't think this is what I'd look like if I were to be caught in Threadfall," he muttered, pushing Nigh away and getting to his feet.

Kain glowered at him. "I'll be glad to help you test that out when the Pass arrives."

At last, T'oa smiled. It wasn't cruel or mocking, but it was sad. He stepped closer to Kain, who eventually stopped fighting against A'lus' hold. Finally, he wrapped his arms around the other Tanner – pushing the brown rider aside as he did so.

Kain didn't protest or pull away. He just thumped his fist against T'oa's back once before letting himself crumble into a weeping wreck.

As he watched, I'sa highly doubted this was a reconciliation between the two – more of a brief breather to allow for Kain's emotional outburst. T'oa still wasn't himself; he was still quite obviously hiding something. Then, of course, there was the black dragon sitting silently at the side of the scene. His eyes showing an impossible lack of emotion. A dragon who had managed to form an unspoken vow of silence between Tennar's dragons. A dragon who had Impressed a man who hated dragons. A dragon who's colour did not even exist.

"I'sa?"

Without even realising it, I'sa had been staring at the black dragon. He turned to find A'lus standing beside him.

"Are you ok?" the brown rider asked.

"Yeah. It's just…" I'sa looked over at T'oa who refused to let go of Kain, despite Nigh's orders. "I don't know... I feel like there's something being kept from us."

"It's not that," A'lus fumbled with a loose thread on his sleeve, his eyes never leaving T'oa. "They're just keeping silent, for some reason."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"No. If they were keeping something from us, they would be withholding information that we should know. Whatever it is they're not saying, we don't necessarily have to know about it."

Shaking his head, I'sa shoved his hands into his pockets. "Yeah well, if my dragon is keeping secrets from me, then I should be told what's going on."

"No, I'sa, I don't think we should."

"A'lus?"

The brown rider began walking towards his dragon, his head hanging low. At a loss, I'sa followed and the pair left the trio of crafters to themselves. Patting Tidyth on the leg, A'lus led I'sa back inside Tennar towards the mess hall, as their dragons took off for their respective weyrs. Despite I'sa's never ending stream of questions, A'lus said nothing until the two were seated at a table in the hall. The brown rider put a cup of wine down before I'sa, which earned him a confused look.

"You know I don't really drink wine," I'sa reminded him. "I thought you didn't either…"

"Except in circumstances that call for it," A'lus added, taking a sip from his own cup.

"Yeah… for like the hatching feast, or to commemorate the deceased. Neither of which we're doing!" I'sa was protesting, but only because he was truly feared the expression on A'lus' face.

"You saw T'oa's face. You saw his eyes, the marks on his skin. How his words were hardly his own," the brown rider muttered. "If this doesn't count as drinking for the deceased, I don't know what does."


	8. A Transfer's Introduction

Hello again! Apologies for the late update - there were many things with this story I had to go over in my head before being able to continue. (When Len plans, you should be afraid...)

Anyways, I promise the time jumps will stop soon enough! :) Thanks for reading and please enjoy!

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Chapter Eight: A Transfer's Introduction

In all her turns , Biime had never felt so out of her depth as she did sitting in the mess hall of Tennar Weyr. She'd arrived mere hours ago, and yet word must have spread about her quickly; the hall had filled up since Jillen had brought her in here, and the weyrfolk simply wouldn't stop staring. Well, it was understandable; the sight of a new goldrider was perhaps exciting for them.

"You'll have to excuse my nosy Weyr," Jillen laughed as the two women sat a table and ate. She was a good Weyrwoman from what little Biime had seen of her; young, inexperienced, but Jillen had apparently managed to get a good hold on leadership in the few turns Tennar had been around. Biime found it extremely interesting to observe

"Oh, they're no worse than any other Weyr," Biime assured her. It was true; the numbers at Tennar were still small, so this amount of attention was nothing compared to how the whole of Ista Weyr had looked at her when they heard she was transferring here.

Tennar Weyr had become rather notorious over the past turn after its first hatching; certainly the talk of the table every meal time. Rightfully so, too; Biime hadn't been here a day yet and she'd already seen a group of female riders chatting (not something you usually saw at Ista). Then, of course, there was _that_ – which Biime hadn't seen firsthand yet.

"I can't promise you'll have it easy," Jillen said. "And I'm not just talking about the workload. We're hardly Pern's favourite Weyr." The Weyrwoman almost looked guilty as she said it.

"I think I can handle it." It wasn't like she'd transferred here for power or glory anyway; simply because Thread was arriving soon, and a Weyr shouldn't have just one goldrider.

Well, perhaps she also felt like she needed some excitement in her life.

There was a loud chorus of laughter from the table in the far corner that drew Biime's attention over to it. It was perhaps the only table that wasn't staring at her, and – whilst she hardly craved the attention – she found it odd.

"You should have seen your face!" one of the men exclaimed – banging his fist against the table.

"I've never seen a more beautiful sight," the only woman sitting there said with a sigh. "That expression will be in my dreams every night."

A tall and rather stern looking man, who the laughter seemed to be aimed at, kept staring at his plate. The irritated twitch in his eye didn't go unnoticed by Biime. "Don't you all have better things to do with your time than watch the weyrling lessons?"

"Most definitely not."

"Oh, I see you've noticed Tennar's troublesome group." Jillen's laugh forced Biime to look back at her. She felt somewhat embarrassed that she'd been caught staring at the table.

"Troublesome group?" she asked.

Jillen nodded and tore off a bit of bread to eat. "They act up more than the weyrbrats do. You'll know them all soon enough, that I promise."

"Are they riders?"

"A mix of crafters too; that's what makes them so dangerous."

Biime's eyes widened. "Dangerous?"

"Oh, nothing serious," Jillen shook her head. "Well… nothing _really_ serious… yet."

Finding the whole conversation a little worrying, Biime looked back over at the table, trying to work out what made that particular group so problematic. She suddenly found her eyes locked with the tall man. A slight breath caught in her throat as she felt the dark eyes pierce her. His face was more youthful than she'd first thought, but it was so covered in scars that she found it difficult to see past them.

Neither looked away from one another for a good while – Biime could feel the others at the man's table noting the strange staring contest too, but she ignored them. Then, without any sign of warning, the man stood up and walked towards her.

The whole mess hall felt silent.

The tension that filled the room unnerved the goldrider: could one a man really cause such a wave of unease for a whole Weyr? It seemed so. There were only two people unaffected by the shift in atmosphere: one of the man's friends who followed him over and the Weyrwoman herself.

Stopping right in front of her, the man continued to stare for a moment longer…

…and then he held out his hand.

"T'oa."

Was that an introduction? Biime assumed so and cautiously shook the man's hand. His skin was cold to touch.

She didn't even get a chance to say her own name, as he continued as soon as their hands touched.

"I trust Wakarenth is in good health?"

Biime blinked. "I wasn't aware you were told our names."

"The Weyrleaders tend to avoid telling me anything to do with Weyr business," T'oa said. Jillen scoffed slightly. "Aath alerted me of you both."

"Your dragon, I presume?"

She swore she saw him flinch.

"Aath is my beast, yes."

The man who had followed T'oa shuffled uncomfortably beside him – exchanging quick glances with the Weyrwoman. Why exactly he's followed for a simple introduction, Biime didn't know. Then again, she wasn't sure why this particular rider had approached her. Perhaps this was his idea of a warm welcome? He hadn't even let go of her hand yet.

"How long until your gold Rises?"

"T'oa!" the friend gasped, grabbing T'oa by the shoulder.

Biime smiled to let the man know she didn't mind – though she was certainly confused. "Not too long, I suppose. Why? Do you plan to Chase?"

"I plan to win."

Even then, no one in the room spoke. Biime would have laughed if it was anyone else, but something about this man's eyes told her he was deadly serious. Maybe he was simply a big-headed bronzerider.

"Really? My Wakarenth is very picky, I'd hold off making bets, if I were you."

"Betting is for an uncertain outcome."

The friend's grip on T'oa tightened, and this time he tried to pull him away completely. "T'oa, that's enough. You and Aath need to stop messing about now."

"Did you finish up that new design, Kain?" T'oa asked, still not taking his eyes off Biime.

"That has nothing to do with this conversation. Leave the goldrider alone," the Kain character snapped. It seemed he was the only one in the room who had the nerve to argue with this T'oa.

T'oa chuckled. The sound was hollow and cold. "Everything has to do with this conversation, Kain. Everything."

"Ok great," Kain continued, his tone become lighter. "In that case, Weyrwoman, did you get the pleasure of seeing the weyrling's training session this morning?"

Jillen seemed to understand Kain's aim immediately. So did T'oa, as his whole face frowned. "Why, no I didn't, Kain. Please, enlighten me, what happened?

"Well, they were practicing flying formations, as always, and T'oa here started–"

As if the words shook sense into him, T'oa let go of Biime's hand and turned to hit Kain on the head. Kain looked positively thrilled at the reaction.

"Cut it out, wherry breath."

The voice that spoke then wasn't the same voice Biime had been hearing up until that point. It was softer, more human that it had been – but that only unnerved her more. It was like he'd suddenly snapped out of a daze.

"Whatever, idiot," Kain grabbed T'oa's wrist and started dragging him back towards the table. "Now, let's talk about that fantastic lesson this morning. What was it again? 'Kain! Get me down, please!'?"

It was like someone had just thrown a log back on a simmering fire, and it burst into life once more. The whole mess hall started chatting again – and from what Biime could hear, not a single conversation was about what had just happened. It was like there was an unspoken pact between everyone in the room that they didn't comment on this T'oa's actions.

Looking to Jillen in hope of some explanation, Biime wondered if she'd just imagined everything that happened a moment ago. Obviously not, as the Weyrwoman still looked rather embarrassed.

"Dangerous," Biime agreed.

Laughing, albeit nervously, Jillen nodded. "Yeah, well, everyone has to have a first meeting with T'oa. And they almost always go like that."

"I don't even know what 'that' was…"

"That was T'oa," Jillen's eyes locked on Biime's – but it seemed like she was watching her reactions more than anything. "T'oa of Black Aath."

Oh.

Honestly, Biime wasn't sure how she should react. She just… didn't know. What should anyone saw to that? What was the correct response? Oh, she'd heard the rumours all right. Who on Pern hadn't? The only thing she could do was take a deep breath.

"The mutant?"

* * *

Lucina wandered out into the Weyr Bowl, letting her eyes sweep across the surroundings to see who was out there. At this time of day, most weyrfolk would be having lunch, so it was relatively quiet with the exception of the odd dragon loitering about. Though, the Weaver wasn't exactly happy to see a certain dragon staring at her.

_Are you done? _

She shivered as Aath's voice reached her mind. Was he this outspoken with everyone? Couldn't T'oa tell his dragon to stay out of other people's minds? Though, Lucina doubted even T'oa's ability to control the black weyrling.

_My social nature aside, may I press you for an answer? _Aath prodded, peering a little too far into Lucina's mind for her liking… yet again.

Despite not wanting to, she walked over to where the black sat. There was a gold next to him that must have belonged to the new goldrider arriving today – but that dragon paid neither of them attention. Though, it did go to show just how big Aath had grown in his first turn. The gold may have been bigger than Gosforth, but Aath was bigger than her.

"Y-yes," Lucina nodded, fishing into her bag for one of the examples to show him. The small square of dark fabric was light, and frayed around the edges from where Lucina had cut it haphazardly, but it was what had been stitched into it that Aath wanted to see. It was a smaller version of a normal wingrider knot; the lilac of Tennar thread entwined with a stark black.

_Yes. This is exactly what I envisioned. I shall let T'oa know you have finished it. _Aath nodded proudly and went silent for a moment.

"I don't understand what it's for…" Lucina mumbled as she peered down at her own work.

_It's a shoulder knot._

"But, we already have shoulder knots," the Weaver frowned, pointing to the one around her own shoulder. "And they're much easier to see and transfer between outfits, unlike this little stitched thing."

_You will only wear them on your riding gear._

The use you 'you' didn't go unnoticed by Lucina. It was, however, ignored.

"Then why can't the riders just wear these on their riding gear?"

_Because otherwise they will be seen from a distance._

Lucina sighed. Really, Aath was hopeless. She couldn't tell whether he was extremely slow and dim-witted, or very intelligent but assumed everyone else could read minds. "You need to see knots even more clearly in flight, why would anyone want to hide them?"

Aath shook his big head, as if he was exasperated. _I am a black dragon._

"I… can see that…"

_I'm grateful your eyesight isn't impaired, _Lucina got the feeling T'oa's sarcasm was rubbing off on Aath. _I mean, I am a black dragon, which isn't something most riders approve of. I do not wish for T'oa's knots to show that so clearly._

"But… people will see _you_ and sort of assume your colour…. right?"

_If hate is directed at me, that is fair enough. If T'oa is without me, he doesn't deserve a hateful reaction._

Lucina looked at the black, unsure how to respond. On one hand, she found it unbelievably sweet that Aath thought about T'oa's well being – even if he never made an effort to show the weyrling himself. However, she was still annoyed that there were so many things that Aath (and subsequently T'oa) didn't tell everyone. After the hatching, T'oa made it clear that he did _not _approve of Impressing Aath. Yet, after disappearing for a little while, the two reappeared with some sort of massive secret between them. They'd spent the whole turn going from person to person giving strange orders or advice, yet never giving any reason or explanation for it.

And, to Lucina's irritation, she seemed to be their favourite person to order about. If it wasn't telling her to sign back up for Candidacy, it was designing making these alternate shoulder knots or something else entirely.

Still, they'd promised that it would all be over after this first turn. Whatever 'it' was…

And that meant it would be over soon.

Though perhaps that wasn't as much of a blessing as she first thought.


	9. A Child's Innocence

Hi all! I've just moved into my new house full time and won't have internet for another 3 weeks :( However, it means I've got quite a few chapters done for you, and will update them when I can get online!

Here's the first XD Enjoy!

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Chapter Nine: A Child's Innocence

Running across the Weyr Bowl, Gilla let out a yelp of excitement as she hopped over Riath's tail. The girl paid no heed to the questioning shout from I'sa – who had been washing the blue until the weyrbrat rushed past him. Instead, she continued on her way; dodging those lingering around the Bowl, diving into the tunnels of the Weyr with a very clear destination in mind.

It wasn't until she ripped aside the curtain covering the entrance to T'oa's weyr that she stopped properly; her chest heaving with the stress such a run had done on her lungs. She'd never run so far and fast in all her life… only to find the weyr empty.

"No!" she complained aloud as she realised, stomping her foot in irritation.

"Ha! Gilla's having a tantrum!"

The hairs on the back of her neck tickled with annoyance as Gilla heard the sing-song taunt, and she spun around to glower at the smirking rounded face of Pament. In the two turns since Tennar's opening, there was still a notable lack of weyrbrats around: the total had only reached five. Sadly for Gilla, she was still the only girl; and the boys made sure to make her life a misery for it.

"I'm in a hurry, Pament." The girl turned and folded her arms, tapping her foot impatiently like her mother did when she was scolding T'oa.

Pament didn't notice. "You ain't supposed to be in the rider quarters, y'know."

"You are!"

"I was speaking to me Pa!"

"And I'm looking for T'oa!"

Pament pulled a face. None of the weyrbrats liked that Gilla was close to a group of dragon riders – never mind the 'shadow rider' (which was what they'd christened T'oa). "Yeah, but if he ain't here, you got t' go."

"I was going, 'til you stopped me!"

The boy stuck his tongue out, and Gilla replied with sticking out her own. She marched past him, only looking back once to see him sniggering at the whole exchange.

"When I'm WeyrHarper, you'll be sorry!" she yelled, before running back out of the rider's quarters – ignoring whatever it was he retorted.

She was angry at herself; she didn't have time to stand around arguing with Pament! He didn't understand that she had really important work to do; orders from the lovely Aath himself! ('Lovely' being the adjective Gilla used to describe him, whereas Aath stated he'd prefer 'the great, mighty King of Dragons').

However, Gilla was growing worried; Aath didn't say where T'oa was, just that it was urgent that she find him. Actually, now she gave it some thought, she wasn't even sure why she had to find him in the first place. Well, it wouldn't do to question Aath, would it? He seemed to trust her, and that made Gilla unbelievably happy.

She decided to head for the main part of the Weyr – briefly checking inside the mess hall as she passed. It wasn't until she was reaching the further rooms of the Weyr that she ran into a friendly face.

"Woah!" A'lus cried as Gilla rounded the corner and ran straight into him. The brown rider quickly caught her in his arms, refusing to let go.

"Let go, A'lus! I got stuff to do!" The girl attempted to wriggle out his hold, but the rider simply held on tighter.

"And what's that?"

Deciding not to mention that she was on a job from Aath (A'lus always became immediately suspicious whenever Aath was mentioned, like he was on high alert for the black's trouble), Gilla pretended she was too distracted to answer properly.

"You seen T'oa?" she asked. "I need to ask him something."

"T'oa?" A'lus frowned – T'oa made him just as suspicious. Luckily, the brown rider didn't think about it as much as he probably should have been and gave an actual answer. "I think I saw him heading him to the Weyrleader's office. Why?"

He'd lowered his guard, and so his hold slackened, giving Gilla a chance to twist away and set off running again, shouting her thanks back at the baffled rider.

She made short work of the distance to the Weyrleader's office, and as she approached it, she was delighted to see the man she was looking for standing slumped against the wall outside the entrance-way.

"T'o–!"

The black rider's eyes snapped round to look at her, and he raised a finger to his lips to silence her mid-shout. She slowed; the atmosphere around T'oa seemed even more unnerving than usual, and Gilla wasn't too sure what to do about it. Still, T'oa seemed rather unsurprised to see her, and beckoned her to come forward a few more steps, before indicating she should stop.

It was just close enough to the office entrance that she could hear what was being said inside.

"...dangerous to the whole of Pern!"

"Now, Se'nar, you can't really think that, can you?"

Whilst Gilla may have recognised the second voice as Tennar's Weyrleader, H'onn, the first was new to her. T'oa's eyes watched her carefully as she leaned further towards the door.

"During Aath's first turn of weyrlinghood, we put him through numerous tests," Gilla then recognised her aunt's voice: Weyrwoman Jillen. "There is not a tooth that isn't un-dragon-like. He flies, flames, sleeps, breathes; just like every other dragon."

"I find that very hard to believe, Jillen. Look at him, for Faranth's sake!"

"Please refrain from raising your voice at our Weyrwoman, P'in," came H'onn's stern request to that man. P'in was a name Gilla recognised: the Weyrleader of Benden, Jillen's old Weyr.

"I mean no offence," P'in didn't sound like he meant that at all; Gilla thought he had a very cruel voice. "But that _mutant_ is bigger than some Queens! You can't seriously think that isn't an abomination in itself?"

"Never mind the vile colour of it's hide," someone else added.

Gilla didn't like this conversation one bit. She peered back at T'oa; his eyes staring down at her coldly. She wanted to leave, to speak to him later, but something about those eyes froze her to the spot with fear.

"I hardly think there's any point in arguing over that monster," a booming voice yelled, silencing the others who'd begun arguing. "The very fact that it is in debate proves we should destroy the clutch!"

A horrified squeak emerged from Gilla's throat. She clamped her hands over her mouth as she felt tears prickling at her eyes. Thankfully, it hadn't just been her who'd reacted; the chorus of agreement drowned out the girl. Once again, she looked to T'oa. His features were darker than usual, but gave none of his thoughts away.

There was a loud bang.

"Perhaps I should forgive the_ ignorance_ of the Lord Holders," H'onn bellowed. "But how can any of you call yourselves dragon riders – never mind _Weyrleaders_ – when you are seriously demanding that a clutch of dragon eggs, helpless young, be murdered before their shells even warm?"

"How can you call yourself a Weyrleader when you let a mutant Chase a Gold? Never mind actually _win_ her!"

"There was, and is, no reason why Aath isn't allowed to act like any other dragon," Jillen spat.

"It's best to kill them," yet another voice added. "Who knows what sort of awful mutations they might carry? It's cruel to let them live!"

"Or they may be like any other normal dragon. The only difference being their father is a black!"

Gilla didn't want to hear another word. Tears streamed down her face, soaking her tunic as she tried to wipe them away. Pressing her hands over her ears, she looked desperately up to T'oa, silently begging that he'd let her leave.

She was staring up at him so franticly that she didn't hear the footsteps approaching, nor the curtain over the office being pulled aside. "T'oa, can you–"

The colour vanished from H'onn's face as he peered out and saw Gilla standing there. His mouth opened, but the Weyrleader was stunned into silence. His presence was the tipping point.

"You can't kill the babies!" Gilla screamed.

The only sound from inside the office was a chair clattering to the ground. Only a breath later, Jillen was looking over H'onn's shoulder.

"Gilla!" she cried, pushing her way around her weyrmate and falling to her knees in front of the weeping girl. "What on earth…" Jillen glanced up at T'oa – he still stood as silent as before.

"Jillen! You can't let them, you won't, right?" Gilla begged as she clung to the gold rider's sleeves.

A few more concerned and angry faces appeared behind H'onn.

"Why is there a child here? What sort of damned Weyr are you running?" one short and light-haired man shouted. The offence seemed to wake H'onn up, as he turned and glared at the group of men until they withdrew inside.

"Gilla, do you understand how serious it is to listen to important Weyr business?" Jillen said; clearly trying to sound stern, but the shaking of her voice showed just how scared she was. "I very disappointed–"

"Would you let them kill Gosforth's babies?"

Jillen looked helpless. "N-no, but–"

"What about me? If Mama had been ill, or looked different, would you have killed me when I was born?"

"Gilla, this isn't–"

"Then how can you even think of letting them hurt Wakarenth's babies, just because Aath is their daddy? What's wrong with Aath? He's done nothing wrong!"

Unable to find fault in what Gilla was saying, Jillen turned her gaze onto T'oa. Her panic turned to anger as she saw his lack of reaction. "How can you let her listen? Why didn't you send her away?"

T'oa shrugged. "Aath sent her."

"I don't care if Faranth sent her! You should not have let a child listen to _that_."

The black rider's frown deepened. "Why? If you're going to kill them, she'll know eventually anyway."

"T'oa!"

Gilla didn't want Jillen to turn this onto T'oa – he was just as innocent as Aath! "Wakarenth won't let you kill them! She'll get angry. She'll protect them!"

Jillen turned back to the child; her fear becoming even more obvious on her face. "Gilla…"

"I'll protect them!"

Snatching her arms away, the weyrbrat turned and ran away from her aunt. She didn't know if Jillen was shouting after her, or shouting at T'oa, but it didn't matter. Gilla had heard what terrible, terrible thing they were thinking of doing, and she would find a way to stop it. She sprinted past drudges and riders who recognised her, called after her, but they couldn't do anything. The tears continued to pour as she broke out into the Bowl and immediately collided with a dragon leg.

Toppling backwards, Gilla was stunned into silence for a moment, until she finally just wept loudly. Her sobs and cries stopped everyone around in their tracks, and the girl paid no attention to any of them.

Of course, the leg she'd run into belonged to a dragon who'd been expecting her. Looking at the black dragon only made Gilla weep harder as she sat there. There was a soft 'thump' as Aath sat himself down and wrapped his tail around the girl's back protectively. Other than that, he just stared down at her silently. He didn't even try to speak to her like normal.

Many of the onlookers weren't sure what to do about the girl – not with the mutant sitting so close to her; even after two turns, the weyrfolk of Tennar were never sure whether they were allowed to approach Aath or not. Eventually, one stepped forward.

The lanky girl didn't even look at Aath as she walked up to Gilla – even stepped over the black's tail like it was just a log. Crouching down in front of the weyrbrat, the girl looked at her with dark and calculating eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Gilla looked up, and even through the blur of tears knew she'd never met this person before. Her badly cropped hair was a pale red that Gilla had never seen before, and she had a scattering of dark freckles across her face.

"I…" Sobs kept catching in Gilla's throat. "They're… so awful!"

"Who?"

Gilla barely heard the question; the memories were still repeating in her mind. "Would you… Do you hate Aath?"

The girl looked confused for a moment. Aath gave a low grumble, which the girl seemed to register. "You mean the mutant?" she asked Gilla. The reply was a nod, and the red-haired girl just shrugged nonchalantly. "He looks a bit weird, but doesn't mean I hate him. Why?"

"Would you kill his babies?"

"Kill his… huh?"

Neither girl was able to say anything else, as there was a panicked shout from behind them. Gilla looked past the strange girl to see her mother running towards them. The tears returned with a vengeance.

Nigh only gave the red-haired girl a brief look before reaching down and hauling Gilla up into her arms. She rocked and shushed her like she was a baby again, and Gilla could only cling to her mother.

"Ssh, it's ok. I'm here, sweetheart," Nigh's words seemed to comfort the child at least a little, and she spared a moment to look at the older girl. "Thank you…"

"Teya."

"Thank you, Teya. I'm very grateful you tried to help her." Nigh gave the girl a smile, and, with one suspicious glance at Aath, turned and walked away with the sobbing child in her arms.

Tennar's newest arrival gave a loud sigh and scratched her head as she watched the two go. Really, what on earth had that all been about? Teya looked up at the black that still sat right next to her – and she suddenly felt very uncomfortable with him towering over her.

"So that was about you, huh?" she muttered, though she wasn't really directing her words to him. Shaking her head, and deciding that had been more than enough excitement for her first day as a Candidate in Tennar Weyr, Teya turned to head back to the Candidatemaster's office: something about the way her last Candidatemaster at Igen Weyr reacted to hearing she was planning to transfer here, told her he wouldn't have alerted Tennar that she would be arriving today.

Of course, she was stopped in her tracks when the big black tail, which had been lying on the floor a mere moment ago, suddenly slammed into the ground right in front of her. She jumped back in fright, and stared up at the culprit.

_Thank you for not hating me._

Teya had had dragon's speaking into her mind before, but she'd never felt as uncomfortable as she did with this black speaking to her. She didn't say anything about it though, just raised an eyebrow.

"I take it a lot of people hate you?" she asked; almost curious as to whether the black would reply to her again.

_My rider included. Though he is coming around. _

"Good for you." Deciding that she still felt very uncomfortable with this dragon talking to her – especially when the rider didn't seem to be around – Teya turned to head off. The tail in front of her, however, stayed where it was. Sighing, she looked back up at him.

_You are to Stand?_

Something told Teya she wasn't going to like this dragon very much. "Yes."

_They are my children that you will be on the Sands for._

"I see." Teya hoped they wouldn't all be as 'friendly' as this black.

_I hope that wasn't sarcasm._

The girl opened her mouth to retort, but then stopped. She'd not said anything _aloud_ that was sarcastic…

_Please refrain from such sarcastic thoughts in the future; I am burdened with it enough from T'oa._

Teya couldn't even react enough to ask if T'oa was his rider.

_The girl was upset as she overheard that those from outside of Tennar are planning to murder my children._

"Wh–"

_She is overreacting. It will not come to anything. No dragon will allow their rider to hurt my children._

Teya couldn't believe what she was hearing. She really hoped she was dreaming all this. Still, she answered. "Why's that? In my previous Weyr, dragons complained about the mutant of Tennar just as much as the humans did."

The black seemed pleased that Teya was replying. _They may not approve of me, but that is simply because they know I must exist. That I am above all of them. _

"You're very sure about that, huh?"

_Of course,_ the black at last moved his tail and stood up. _I am sure of everything. That I am the King of Dragons. That my children will all survive and hatch as healthy beasts ready to fight Thread. And that you will be Stand for them. _

Unable to hold it back, Teya smirked a little. It was like she was suddenly forgetting that it was a dragon she was talking to. "Ok then, know-it-all, are you sure if I'm going to Impress or not?"

_You're not my rider, child. I don't plan to tell you everything._

With that, the black beat his giant wings and leapt up into the sky. Teya watched with a look of baffled amusement.

"Um, excuse me?"

Turning, Teya found herself looking over at an exceptional small girl who wore a Weaver's knot.

The girl seemed nervous over something, and took a few hesitant steps forward. "Aath... the dragon, I mean… said I should help show you where the Candidatemaster's office is. It's not by the barracks, at the moment."

"Oh," Had Teya even mentioned to the black where she was going? "Thanks, I guess… but why you?"

A look of irritation passed over the girl's face. "I need to head over there to sign back up for Candidacy…"

Teya was surprised; the girl looked like she could be snapped in two by a dragon's sneeze. The thought of her riding a dragon and fighting Thread was just… weird. "You don't look to happy about that."

"I'm not," the girl sighed, and beckoned Teya to follow her towards the main Weyr. "But if it gets T'oa and Aath off my back, then I figured I might as well."

"Well, looks like we'll be Standing together," Teya gave a friendly smile, which she tried to hide almost immediately; she was never this polite back in Igen. "I'm Teya."

"Lucina," the girl smiled back. "Nice to meet you."


	10. A Crater's Love

Chapter Ten: A Crafter's Love

Where there should have been excitement, there was a sense of foreboding that engulfed Tennar Weyr. Riders, crafters, drudges, they all moved around on tiptoes, as if breathing too loudly would cause everything to crumble. There had always been tension around them; most Weyrs disapproved of the creation of the uncomfortably liberal and headstrong Tennar, but in the two turns since its founding, things had only gotten worse for the weyrfolk. Aath's arrival had set the other Weyrs on edge, his size had angered them, but his winning Gold Wakarenth's mating flight was the breaking point.

Tennar's Weyrleaders didn't publically announce the result of their meeting with the other Weyrleaders and the Southern Continent's Lord Holders; but they had all left Tennar without causing any disturbances.

With the eggs warming on the Sands, the weyrfolk could only get on with life as quietly as possible. All feared that the other Weyrs would cause a commotion when the hatchlings, fathered by a mutant, hatched; but time went on and no one heard so much as a grumble from them. Still, even if the Weyrs posed no threat to their everyday life, even Tennar itself was slightly apprehensive about what Aath and Wakarenth's clutch would be like.

It was starting to grow colder, and the leaves that had fallen around the Bowl were left to the responsibility of the Candidates to clean up. It was quite a chore with the nearby forest and strong winds, one that they all hoped they wouldn't be left with. The five female Candidates had been given it for this particular day, with the rain lightly tapping against them as they tried to finish up for the afternoon.

Teya cursed loudly as another gust spread the pile of leaves she'd been working on. "This is ridiculous!" she complained loudly. "I never had to deal with all this crap at Igen!"

Smiling at her friend's aggravation, Lucina wiped the rain from her face and moved over to help. "I think the work is worth having the greenery around; it's much nicer than the North."

"You're just biased after being here for two turns," Teya grumbled as she started raking the leaves yet again.

The two helped each other out until they'd completed most of the work, and when Candidatemaster S'no told them to head off to their second lesson, they headed off. As they wandered past the newly formed Narrowhold Wing (the graduation of Aath's group of weyrlings a few months ago had called for another Wing), they heard their names called out.

Lucina sighed helplessly as she turned to see her brother waving at her from Riath's back across the Bowl. I'sa had certainly not been happy when she'd first signed back up for Candidacy – getting into fight after fight with T'oa and Aath over it – but Teya's friendly and strong presence had apparently soothed his nerves about it.

"I'sa, focus!" A'lus scolded. I'sa said something back that the girl's couldn't hear, but assumed was backchat, as Tidyth quickly swung his tail out to hit the blue rider's back. It wouldn't have been hard, but Riath gave a playful growl that Tidyth quickly copied.

Teya folded her arms disapprovingly and leaned towards Lucina. "The difference between the discipline in this Wing and the Weyrleader's is embarrassing."

"Unfortunately I think that's mostly due to my brother…"

"Well, he's the only one I'mn and A'lus can't handle, it seems."

"Why do you think T'oa's not in a Wing with them?" The girls giggled and continued on their way.

Though Lucina should have headed to the Weavers' craft area for her second lesson, she and Teya stepped into the Tanners' room instead. There was only one glow lit, hanging above the largest and messiest desk in the room.

Kain was bowed low over it, working away at whatever his current project was; completely oblivious to the world around him, and unaware that the two girls had entered. Since T'oa was rarely able to help out, Kain was still Tennar's only full-time Tanner, and he spent every second working. Lucina sometimes wondered who he was trying to prove himself too; almost everyone in the Weyr had complete faith in his abilities, simply worried that he'd overwork himself – which Nigh spent every waking moment making sure he didn't do. Something in her gut said it wasn't the Weyr he felt the need to prove himself to, but T'oa.

"Have you even had lunch?" Teya asked as she leaned over Kain's shoulder to look at what he was working at. The girl hadn't really had a craft she cared about back in Igen; so since coming here she'd decided to try out the Tanner craft. Kain seemed to like having a student, even if she wasn't the most naturally talented, or even around very often. Still, since I'sa, A'lus, and T'oa were busy with Wing work, and Nigh was often swamped in the Infirmary, Kain often seemed quite lonely. Lucina was glad Teya was around to give him some company for a few candlemarks each day.

"Gilla brought me a snack a little earlier," Kain replied, placing his tools down and straightening his back to smile warmly at Teya and Lucina. The Weaver swore he looked thinner again. The flimsy shirt he wore didn't seem like it would do any good against the autumn chill that was settling into the Weyr.

Oblivious to Lucina's concerned expression, Kain jumped out of his chair and headed to the shelves. He picked out a handsome pair of dark brown boots, and held them out to the girl. "I finished these this morning; the soles should last you much longer than your old ones."

"Oh, thank you!" Lucina grinned; happy for a reason to throw out her old worn ones, which had originally been I'sa's. "How much?"

Shaking his head as if he was offended, Kain laughed. "Please! I don't expect anything for them; you needed them, and so I've given you them."

Feeling a blush spread over her cheeks, Lucina bowed her head and moved over to Teya's desk so she could put them on. Thankfully, Teya had drawn Kain's attention away by asking what he was working on.

"Aath's harness; T'oa snapped it again." Kain's voice was laden with stress. Teya groaned and went on to ask how he was going to fix it this time; Kain's face seemed to light up as he went into detail about his plans to strengthen certain parts, and add straps here and there to make it withhold even T'oa's panicked struggling.

Lucina smiled as she watched the two get into a heated debate about the positioning of some strap; Teya believed it would cause discomfort for Aath, and Kain asked her who was the Journeyman, and who was the new Apprentice.

Wriggling her toes within the new boots, Lucina admired the craftsmanship that went into them. The softness of the lining compared to the thick smoothness of the outer leather; the delicately stitched pattern on the toes that rivalled a Weaver's handiwork.

"Lucina?"

Lifting her eyes back up to the Tanner, Lucina sat up straight, like she was suddenly before the Weyrleader himself. Kain gave an amused smile, ignoring Teya – who was still mid rant and holding up the harness.

"Don't you have to get to your craft lessons?" he asked. "I'd much rather steer clear of Master Humne's wrath after last time T'oa crossed him."

"Oh!" Lucina jumped up, gathering her old boots and bowing her head low in gratitude. "Thank you so much, Kain."

Chuckling, Kain waved her away, almost embarrassed. "Don't mention it."

Too self-conscious to say thank you again, Lucina turned and ran off. The Weavers were placed in a much larger and more spacious room than the Tanners; but it was only a little deeper into the tunnels of Tennar. As she stepped inside, the Journeymen and few Apprentices that had joined since gave her a warm and friendly welcome. Making her way across the room and through into the adjoining office at the back, she gave her greetings to Master Humne.

He was huddled over his desk, just as Kain had done, working on a pair of elaborate riding gloves. Even more creases lined his brow than usual as he frowned in concentration. His face was stern, serious, but his eyes shined with love for the work before him; and that somewhat calmed Lucina. As she watched him work, a strange pang of guilt struck her; but not for the reasons she expected.

"Good, are you finished messing about with all that dragon stuff?" Master Humne said in his usual gruff voice as he turned away from his work to notice Lucina watching him. "I've asked Tenway to help you crack spinning; I can't have one of my prodigies unable to make her own thread."

"Master Humne, I was wondering–"

The Master shook his head and waved her away. "There's no real skill to it you know, I'm sure you'll pick it up in no time."

"It's not that, sir…" He eventually turned to look at the Apprentice, disapproval lining his face. Shuffling uncomfortably under his gaze, Lucina dipped her head a little. "I was wondering if I could ask to do something else during my lessons."

"Oh?" The Master seemed even more annoyed at the thought.

"There's something I want to make," Lucina continued.

"Something more important than your lessons?"

"No, but–"

"Then please explain to me why," Placing his hands on his table, the Master pushed himself to his feet, turning towards the girl of such tiny stature. "My most talented Apprentice, who should already be of the rank Journeyman by now, and who already has much too little time to learn her craft thanks to some persistent rider telling her to Stand; should take away what precious time she gives to the craft to idyll away?"

There was a small tugging on Lucina's heart as he put it that way, but she held his gaze. "It's something I have to make, Master Humne. Something I need to make."

By now, the conversation had caught the attention of the other Weavers, who were carefully peering over in curiosity. The old Master remained quiet for quite some time; his eyes cold and harsh as they stared up at Lucina, piercing her very thoughts. It was all she could do not to turn away and apologise immediately.

Finally, the Master smiled.

"Are you aware this is the first thing you have wanted to make since studying under me, Lucina?"

Blinking, the girl shook her head.

"Crafters aren't made by their skill, but by the love they have for their work," He turned back to his work, seemingly much more content than before. "A great crafter is one who can only create and do what they truly want to do."

Unsure if this was complete permission or not, Lucina glanced back at the grinning Journeymen watching from their work places. Addla gave a reassuring nod, and beckoned Lucina to return to her station.

Letting out a relieved sigh, Lucina hurried over and sat down. She began to tidy away the practice pieces from her desk to make room for what she had in mind.

"I trust you'll make time to come for extra lessons, young one?" the Master called – a smile still lingering in his voice.

"Yes sir!"

By dinner time, Lucina's hands were more swollen and cut than they'd been when she'd first joined the craft. Master Humne wrapped up her wounds himself, complimenting her on her sudden dedication to her work. Addla and Tenway promised to help her out with any practice later that night during free time, and so Lucina hurried off to the meal unable to wipe the satisfied grin off her face. It was perhaps the most she'd ever enjoyed working, and she wasn't even making something for herself.

Teya wasn't sitting with the other Candidates, but Kain and Nigh – something Lucina was almost grateful to see – and she joined them quickly.

"Shards, Lucina!" Teya gasped, dropping her spoon and grabbing her fellow Candidate's hands in horror. "What have you done to yourself?"

"I've got a little crafter project," Lucina said, shaking her hands away to show she was fine and grabbing a bread roll from the centre of the table.

"What, to see how many injuries you can endure?" Teya scoffed.

"Teya," Kain said in a low voice that silenced the girl. He gave Lucina a smile that seemed to wipe away the tiredness from his features. "Never question a crafter project."

Nigh nodded in agreement, but Teya continued to protest. She didn't get far, as Kain frowned sternly.

"You're too new to crafting to understand," he told her. "But any crafter can tell you that Lucina is positively glowing with pride. That tells you all you need to know about this project."

Lucina could only drop her head to hide the vibrant blush that crossed her cheeks, and no more was said on the subject.

The group was soon joined by A'lus and I'sa – both still arguing from whatever disagreement they'd had in drills. T'oa appeared shortly after, muttering curses under his breath about the 'big-headed, bossy tyrant' and 'might as well call himself Faranth'; and Lucina wondered which description belonged to Aath, and which belonged to the Weyrleader.

Thankfully, Nigh managed to get the topic turned around for the whole table; and they began discussing the latest news from Tennar's very own Hold that was being built on the other side of the forest river. Tennar Hold: the final step for many of the weyrfolk before Tennar became a true Weyr. With its creation, the Weyr wouldn't be completely self-sufficient, and with the next Pass coming ever closer, that would be a blessing.

Nigh explained that there were plenty of folk living at the Weyr who would gratefully move to the Hold. According to I'sa and the other Searchriders, there were just as many people from outside Tennar who were tempted to move once the new Hold was established. T'oa said that H'onn and Jillen had already found a Lord Holder; Renton, the fourth son of Calos Hold's Lord Holder Melborne – no one questioned how he'd discovered that information, because no one wanted to know.

So, as the group talked, and the dining hall filled up with optimistic chatter around them, none were expected the sudden hum of dragons.


End file.
